# Chinese Chicken Salad



## lindatooo (May 9, 2004)

From the latest issue of Cuisine at home...I'd rate it a 10.  Pretty enough to make for company and simple enough to do often for family!  Much of it can be done ahead.  Caution:  this dressing is addictive!

For the Chicken:
Poach 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 lb)
in 3T soy sauce and water - thusly:

Place soy sauce and chicken breasts in large sauce pan, barely cover with water; bring to boil, cover tightly and allow to sit off the heat for 30 minutes.  Cut into bite sized pieces and and chill.

Prepare garnishes:  

Toast 2T sesame seeds in a dry skillet until golden, stirring often.  Set aside.

2/3 C (this is really good so you might want to do more!) slivered almonds
1/4 C dark brown sugar
2 T unsalted butter (I used salted butter and liked it but that's what I had  - visiting you know!)

Melt butter in small sauce pan, add nuts and saute until golden - about 2 minutes; add brown sugar and stir until melted and combined.  Turn out onto foil lined surface to cool.  Crumble after it cools. I just made a package out of the foil and smacked it on the counter!

Dressing:

In a blender combine:
1 C mayonaise
1 C cilantro leaves
3 T Seasoned Rice Vinegar
2 T Asian sesame oil
2 T soy sauce
1 T sugar
1 T fresh ginger - minced very fine but not grated.
pinch of cayene (I substituted a few grounds of fresh black pepper because I couldn't find the cayene and because I'm a wimp)

Combine chicken, 1 head iceberg lettuce chopped or torn (always prefer to tear lettuce so it doesn't brown)  ( I'm sure any of robust lettuce you favor would be fine - or a combination) 1 1/2 C chow mein noodles
3 grated carrots.  Toss with dressing and garnish with sesame seeds and almonds.

You can prepare the dressing ahead and keep it in the fridge - in the blender container and re-swirl a bit before combining.  It would be a wonderful picnic dish as long as you kept the noodles and garnishes separate from the lettuce, chicken and carrots until just before serving as the noodles would get soggy.


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