Chinese Chicken Salad Recipe

Need something nutritious and delicious after all that candy? This is the recipe from my friend Karen is the one for you. I tried this at a luncheon and LOVED the unique flavor, the crispness of the vegetables, and the moist, tender chicken. When I tried it out at home, I knew Glen would love it, but imagine my delight when my kids also really enjoyed it!

Here are the ingredients for the salad (the dressing ingredients are listed below).

6 split Chicken breasts

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 pound asparagus, ends removed, cut into thirds diagonally (I used two bundles)

2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded

4 scallions (white and green parts) slice diagonally

Dressing:

1 C. vegetable oil

¼ C. apple cider vinegar

1/3 C. soy sauce

3 T. sesame oil

1 T. honey

2 garlic cloves minced

1 t. grated fresh ginger

1 T. sesame seeds, toasted

½ C. peanut butter

1 t. salt

1 t. freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350

Place chicken breasts on sheet pan and rub the skin with olive oil, sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes until cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Remove the meat from the bones, discard skin and shred chicken into bite size pieces.

Don't cheat and use boneless, skinless breasts. The flavor, moistness, and tenderness just can't be replicated without the bones and skins.

Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling salted water for 3-5 minutes, until crisp tender. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. Cut the peppers into strips about the size of the asparagus pieces. Combine the shredded chicken, asparagus and peppers in a large bowl.

Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Add the scallions and season to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature with fresh bread. This keeps well in the fridge and is just as good the next day!

(We used honey roasted cashews instead of sesame seeds,
only because we didn't have any sesame seeds in the house.)

Enjoy!