Chinese” Chicken Salad: it’s crisp, tasty, and refreshing. My version is made with cabbage, two kinds, which hold up better than lettuce–lettuce is boring, and in almost every other salad-how many chances do you have to eat raw cabbage? Not many, right? I can only think of this salad and coleslaw. So try this, with cabbage…, and carrots, cilantro, green onion, sesame seeds, peanuts, and shredded chicken. You might even want to add some chopped celery and/or sugar snap peas. Sometimes I even add a can of mandarin oranges, which makes this so not a Chinese Chicken Salad (but it’s good!)
This recipe makes enough for a small crowd. (I often take it to potlucks.) If you’re not the Duggars, and are not going to a potluck, you might want to consider making half a recipe.
Leftover Chinese Chicken salad doesn’t keep all that well (the noodles and the cabbage loose their crunch), although teenage boys have been known to devour soggy leftovers up to 24 hours after serving…
Chinese Chicken Salad
- 1 small head green cabbage, finely shredded
- 1/4 head of red cabbage, finely shredded
- 2 large carrots, grated
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped
- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped peanuts, optional (I use dry roasted peanuts)
- 4-5 cooked chicken breasts, chopped or shredded (Use leftover chicken, or marinate chicken breasts in teriyaki sauce for a few hours, then grill, broil or pan-fry-let cool before using. You could also use the chicken from a cooked rotisserie chicken)
- 2 packages of Top Ramen noodles (that soup mix stuff, the rectangular package!), crumbled (any kind, you will not be using the seasoning package)
- 1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds, optional (To toast seeds, place them in a hot, dry frying pan and swirl around a bit over medium high heat. As soon as the seeds begin to take on a color, remove from heat. Keep stirring, the residual heat in the pan will continue to toast the seeds for another few minutes.)
- Optional additions: chopped celery, sugar snap peas, one can, drained, mandarin oranges
For the Dressing
4 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons white vinegar (OK to substitute Apple Cider vinegar if that’s all you have on hand)
1/2 cup salad oil (a light vegetable oil)
1/2 cup sesame oil
3/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 teaspoon black pepper
Combine all the ingredients for dressing, blend or shake to mix. Set aside.
Toss remaining ingredients together. NOTE: If you are making this to serve later, do not add the dressing or the noodles until just before serving.
Pour desired amount of blended dressing over veggies, chicken, peanuts, and noodles. I don’t always use all the dressing (extra dressing keeps for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator) as I like a lightly dressed salad. Plus, heads of cabbage come in different sizes…, you will need more or less dressing depending on how much cabbage you have in your salad.
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