chicnese chicken salad

This was a real winner of a recipe. I made it for home and the office and it was really enjoyed by all. It is crunchy, has a nice hint of sesame and then there is the odd little surprise hit of fresh hot ginger that is incredible.  I know it’s winter but Matt and I both felt like we needed some vegetables after all of the stews, curries and eggs we had been eating. It is quick and easy to prepare and I took the dressing, veg and toppings separately to the office, so assembled it at lunch time.

This made enough for 4 people as a main meal but could happily be a starter or side dish if you are having people over.

What you need

Dressing

2 x Tablespoons soy sauce
3 x Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 x teaspoon sesame oil
2 x teaspoon salad oil
2 x teaspoon sugar
1 x Tablespoon fresh ginger finely chopped (I like a ginger hit so cut my ginger into small julienne)
1 x teaspoon crushed garlic
Good grind of black pepper (about 1 teaspoon)

The Greens

1 x medium Chinese cabbage finely chopped (about 3-4 cups)
1/4 x red cabbage finely finely chopped (about 1-2 cups)
3 x medium carrots julienned or grated
3 x chicken breasts poached and shredded
4 x spring onions roughly sliced (about half a cup)

Topping

1 x packet 3 minute noodles dry roasted

The process

Make the dressing first by mixing all of the ingredients together in a bottle or tupperware that has a lid, give it a good shake and let it stand while you make the rest of the salad.

Pop the chicken breasts into a pan, cover with water and optionally, add 2 x teaspoons of chicken powder (Chinese chicken stock). I like the gentle bit of flavour it adds to the chicken meat. Simmer the breasts until they are cooked through. Remove from the pan and slive them across the grain then shred into small pieces.

Slice up the cabbages as thin as you can, grate or julienne the carrots and slice the spring onions. Add it to a bowl, then add the chicken and give it a mix about. If you have a very large mixing bowl, get your hands in there and give it a good toss.

Now open the packet of 3 minute noodles and pop them in a 200 Celcius oven until the start going brown. Remove and set aside to cool. You can also do this in a hot dry pan by breaking them up and tossin the noodles around to get as much as possible brown.

Now give the dressing a last good shake and pour over the cabbage mixture. Toss it around to coat everything and then portion into bowls

Top off with some of the crunchy noodles and you are done.

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