Allow me to begin on a personal note, when I was a child
my mother ran several restaurants and every once in a while she would bring
home a “Chinese Chicken Salad” I have always loved them! In the spring of 1990 I came out to
the States and went straight to a restaurant and there it was “Chinese Chicken
Salad” on the menu and I started salivating and had to have it, I can still
close my eyes and taste that salad to this day!!
While the name can be somewhat misleading
this is as Californian as it gets and can be prepared any number of ways, so
you can add, subtract or substitute what you want which makes it great!! Here
at FoodPerfected we offer a ton of variations depending on the occasion. For
example we offer a wonderful version with snow crab, another with Peking duck,
one with grilled lobster and another a distant relative of sorts we call “Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna Salad with Mango-Cilantro Vinaigrette”, one
of our own creations I might add and only made to order unlike the one I am
preparing today which will be served later buffet style for an office lunch. You’ll
notice I prepare it in layers and I pack the chicken, Mandarin oranges, fried
wontons (which I fried then flavored with garlic and ginger powder, s&p
while still hot) fried rice noodles, and "Sesame-Ginger Dressing" on
the side
A couple notes:
while I am using honey and orange juice
you can substitute the orange juice and honey for a
little of the juice the Mandarin oranges comes with but make sure it has no
high fructose corn syrup
They have ready to buy shredded
broccoli (broccoli slaw) which makes a great addition or alternative to the
lettuce-cabbage
I
also like to add toasted pumpkin seeds (outer shell removed)
Shopping List
Chicken breasts,
Ice berg lettuce
Cabbage
Red cabbage
Carrots
Pickled ginger
Slivered almonds
Cilantro
Scallions
Ginger
Garlic
Rice wine vinegar
Soy sauce
Mushroom soy, optional
Oranges, optional
Honey, optional
Canola oil
Sesame oil, sesame seeds
Wontons
Rice noodles
My Mad Method
Plated version ready to eat!
Dressing 2 TBSP ginger puree, or 1 TBSP
fresh, 1 small garlic clove minced, and 2 dl rice wine vinegar, whisk to combine
Add 2 TBSP soy sauce, 1/2 TBSP mushroom
soy sauce (or to taste, optional), 2 TBSP fresh squeezed orange juice, and 1 tsp
honey or sugar (or to taste)
Slowly start adding about 4-6 dl canola
or until desired thickness, and tartness
Add 1 TBS toasted sesame seeds and
sesame oil to taste
"Sesame-Ginger Dressing with
orange and honey" ready to use!
Start by blending together shredded ice berg
lettuce and cabbage (Napa
is great but not necessary), red cabbage and carrots cut into julienne strips
I am using Japanese cucumbers which I
have marinated first
Add Chinese style pickled ginger to
taste, optional
Add sliced scallion and chopped
cilantro to taste
Add a couple TBS slivered and toasted
almonds, and we are ready to go!!
(Will feed 4 to 6)
