Chinese Chicken Salad | Day 16 of 31 Days of Salad

posted on: Monday, January 16, 2012


I hope that one day you have a chance to meet Kristen. She is just one of the kindest souls I have ever met. We became friends when I lived in Hawaii with an infant Enzo. At the time she had 2 kids. Now she has 5. She is a total rockstar and I love her so. You can check out her blog A Little Food Fetish and when you have a chance to go to Hawaii give her a hug from me.

I'm so excited to guest post on Kitchen Corners, it's almost silly, really.
I love that we can come together and share ideas that will make our lives
healthier, brighter, and full of positive energy!
It's all about motivation,
and fellow foodies, like Da, motivate me all the time.
I remember sitting at the park watching Enzo and Lillie play on the playground and chatting the time away easily about carrot cake, and lemon chicken.
(She was cooking for a huge family wedding, of course!)
I'm pretty sure we even talked about baby names and decided that Olive or Olivia would be a cute name for a little girl.
That's foodies for ya.
And here she is, three years later, not only talking about food, but writing about it, a fab photographer, interviewing celebrity chefs, etc. It's been really fun to watch her food blogging take off in a positive burst of tantalizing ingenuity, with style to boot.
And here it is.
January.
A time for renewing, setting goals,
and an “in-with-the-new” breath for whatever comes our way in 2012!
So, I'm going to share with you one of my favorite recipes that opens the door to just that-
Chinese Chicken Salad.
Back story: The first time I handed my Tongan husband a plate of salad
he politely picked at it, said “Thank you”, and held out for the “real food”.
Which, to him, meant a big piece of farm harvested taro covered in coconut milk and roasted pig or some freshly caught fish.
While his island fare is delicious, and we do make it for our family,
I had to convince him that the world had more to offer as far as deliciousness was concerned.
(i.e. vegetables beyond onions and tomatoes and do exist!)
And then...
I found it!
The salad that was the gateway to many, many more family dinners where a union of fresh green leafies and garden vegetables held it's own on center stage.
Now he eats more salad than I do. Truth.
This salad is a meal in itself, and it's tangy dressing won't leave you wanting!
So, here's to starting off 2012 right, and gettin' your “in-with-the-new” on!

Chinese Chicken Salad
(printable version)

2 chicken breasts, cooked and sliced
1 head of romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cucumber, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
½ cup green onions, chopped
1 11 ounce can of mandarin oranges, drained
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 16 ounce package of won ton wrappers, sliced into ¼ inch strips
oil for frying
salt
pepper
Dressing:
½ cup soy sauce, regular or low sodium
½ cup cider vinegar
4 tablespoons sesame oil
5 tablespoons brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
Boil thawed chicken breast in a medium sized pot for about 15-20 minutes, until tender and cooked through, slice and salt and pepper to taste. 




In a large pot heat about 4 cups of oil on medium heat until it reaches 375 degrees. 
Cut wonton squares into 1/4 inch strips with a sharp unserrated knife. Fry strips for about 2 minutes (or until golden brown), making sure to turn them (stirring them in the pot a bit works fine) so they brown evenly.
In a bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, cider vinegar, sesame oil, brown sugar, and minced garlic. Set aside.
Place chopped lettuce in your favorite salad bowl, add cucumbers, red bell pepper, green onion, and mandarin oranges in layers on top. Add sliced chicken, and sprinkle with sesame seeds. 
Drizzle salad with dressing, and add fried wontons on top.

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