Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Asian Sesame Chicken Salad

I just “threw” this salad together. There are so many variations you could try, but I kept it pretty simple so that “the boy” would eat it. I didn’t measure this one, so just use the suggested ingredients and have a blast.

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breasts, boneless skinless
½ box of Bow Tie Pasta
2 – 3 Hearts of Romaine, washed and chopped
Sesame Oil, for cooking the chicken breasts and for the dressing
Soy Sauce
Garlic Chili Sauce, the hot spicy kind
Powdered Ginger
Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Cut in chicken breasts in half, “butterfly style”, so they won’t be so thick. Drizzle some sesame oil in a non-stick skillet and heat. Sprinkle some powdered ginger and garlic powder on both sides of the chicken breasts. Place in the heated skillet. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Cook several minutes on each side to brown, and cook through.

For the dressing, mix together sesame oil, soy sauce and some of the garlic chili sauce. That sauce is VERY spicy. So, be careful. You can always add more – but you can’t take it out once it has been added. I think I used about 1/4 cup of the sesame oil and 3 – 4 tablespoons of soy sauce. Perhaps about ¾ tsp of the garlic chili sauce. But, I like it spicy! I used my little “Bullet Mixer” to make the dressing. It does a great job of combining and emulsifying.

Cut the chicken into small bitesized pieces. In a big bowl layer the lettuce, then chicken, then the cooked drained pasta. (I like to combine everything when the chicken and pasta are still hot. I think the flavors meld better and the pasta seems to really soak up the dressing.) Pour the dressing over the top and toss.

Serve immediately.

Suggested additions – chow mein noodles, fried wonton, some of those almond salad toppers – just to name a few. Maybe you might like to add some green onions, pineapple, tangerines, shredded carrot or bell peppers.