Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Really-good Chinese Chicken Salad

Over the weekend, I roasted 2 chickens (I rarely roast just one chicken. 2 takes just a few minutes longer and the cooked meat is called for in so many recipes). I made chicken pot pie on Sunday for nine, this fantastic salad on Monday and nachos with remaining meat last night.


About 1 1/2 cups of veggie oil
10 wonton wrappers, cut into 1/4 inch wide strips

Pour the veggie oil into a 3 to 4-quart pan (the oil should be about 1/2 inch deep), heat over medium-high heat. Do not allow the oil to smoke, remove from heat if it does. Add the wonton strips in a single-layer and fry, flipping very quickly, until golden brown on both sides, less than a minute total. Lift out with a slotted spoon and transfer to paper towel to drain.

1/4 of a small cabbage, finely shredded
1/2 head of romaine lettuce, chopped
1/3 cup of cilantro, chopped

In a large bowl toss the cabbage, romaine and cilantro.

1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
1 orange, peeled, sectioned and most of the pith removed
2 green onions (including tops), chopped
3-4 carrots, thinly sliced on the diagonal
2-3 cups of cooked chicken, shredded

In a 2 to 3-quart pan over high heat, bring about 1-quart of water to boil. Add the asparagus and cook until crisp-tender, not more than 3-minutes. Drain, then plunge asparagus into ice water to halt cooking. Drain and set aside. Add cooked asparagus, orange, green onions and chicken to salad. Toss.

Spicy soy-ginger dressing:
In a medium bowl, whisk together:
2 Tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons of brown sugar
1 shake of Tabasco
1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
Slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup of veggie, grapeseed or olive oil (or combo of all three).

Dress salad 30 minutes before serving and refrigerate. Garnish with wonton strips.

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