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Thursday, April 9, 2009

BB: Chinese Chicken Salad

As soon as I saw peanut butter in the ingredient list, I knew this would be a chicken salad my husband could get behind. Admittedly, I don't like asparagus OR red pepper, so I left those out. I did have some leftover snow peas, so I decided to add those in. After reading some reviews, it seemed like the salt in the sauce was unnecessary, so I left it out. Ultimately, we absolutely LOVED it and I can't wait to make it again... though the next time will be a little different, I don't want to use that much oil again!

Update (04/28/09): I have made this a few times, replacing the oil in the dressing with 2% greek yogurt - it works great!!


* 4 split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on)
* Good olive oil
* Kosher salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 1/2 pound asparagus, ends removed, and cut in thirds diagonally
* 1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded
* 2 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally
* 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted

For the dressing:

* 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or 1/2 cup 2% greek yogurt)
* 1/4 cup good apple cider vinegar
* 3 tablespoons soy sauce
* 1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
* 1/2 tablespoon honey
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1/2 teaspoon peeled, grated fresh ginger
* 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
* 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
* 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub with the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred the chicken in large bite-sized pieces.

Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. Cut the peppers in strips about the size of the asparagus pieces. Combine the cut chicken, asparagus, and peppers in a large bowl.

Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Add the scallions and sesame seeds and season to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

OH YUM!!! This looks even better than you explained! And I love the parchment wrapping! So cute.

Cook the Books said...

What a great idea to serve the salad in a wrap! Too clever :)

Cathy said...

I'm with you -- I'll make this again, but I've got to figure out a way to cut back on some of the oil. This was really good though. Yours looks great!

chocolatechic said...

ooooOOOOOoooooo

Wrapped in a tortilla. Fabulous.

Jamie said...

Great idea to make wraps!!!

Anonymous said...

Glad you loved it! I'll definitely make it again as well.

You're right about the oil, it's not really necessary to use that much oil to make this incredible.

~Cat

Deb in Hawaii said...

Using it on a wrap is a great idea! I cut most of the salt and a tome of the oil outof the dessing and it was still very tasty.

Anonymous said...

I loved this recipe as well. I cut back on the oil and plan to use even less next time, but it was still delicious!

EmmyJMommy said...

Cut back the oil...a good recommendation...I also agreed with a lot of other BB-ers, less salt is needed...and a wrap....mmMMMmm!

Kim said...

Your wrap looks yummy! I agree about the oil. I was satisfied at 1/4 cup.

Kanella said...

Love the wrap idea.

Rebecca said...

Ah, I didn't think about hooking up a wrap. Nice one!

Scate said...

Looks great - and i love your blog! i found you after seeing the nutella peanut butter muffins - wow.

Penny said...

Love your photo and modifications!

Suzie said...

Your salad wrap looks great - I will definitely give that a try next time I make this salad.

Tonya @ What's On My Plate said...

i love the idea of making a wrap... i strongly considered that too!