Ina's Chinese Chicken Salad, Kicked Up!

Ina's Chinese Chicken Salad, Kicked Up!

“In Spain, attempting to obtain a chicken salad sandwich, you wind up with a dish whose name, when you look it up in your Spanish-English dictionary, turns out to mean: Eel with big abscess.”-Dave Barry.



Now that I have your appetite all stirred up...how about some Chinese Chicken Salad a la Ina? I made this yesterday for lunch and yes I used the rest of the damn turkey meat to do it. I was looking up her regular chicken salad recipe because it's been so long since I made it that I no longer had it "on file". Truth is if I had files I could have maybe found it. Anyway, as I was looking I found this recipe and decided to make it as well.


My two cents on this very good recipe to make in an excellent one? Toasted almonds on top and some romaine lettuce and/or Napa cabbage underneath. This just needed crunchy in a bad way and that something else. Toasted almonds got me almost there, a little crushed red pepper flakes got me even closer, but then after eating a considerable quantity it occurred to me that crunchy greens would have made it perfect! Now I just have to figure out what to do with the left over lamb from Easter ;). Enjoy!


Recipe: Chinese Chicken Salad
2001, Barefoot Contessa Parties!, All rights reserved
Makes 12 servings
































Ingredients
4 split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on)
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound asparagus, ends removed, and cut in thirds diagonally, blanched and drained.
1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded ( I used roasted ones cuz that's what I had but the crunch of the fresh would have been better)
2 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted

For the dressing:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup good apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon peeled, grated fresh ginger
1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
2 teaspoons kosher salt (this struck me as a lot of salt considering there is also soy sauce in here. I started with a half a teaspoon and then added another half an found that to be enough).
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
a little crushed red pepper flakes, if you wish
At least 1/2 cup of toasted almonds maybe even a cup!
Chopped up romaine lettuce and/or shredded Napa cabbage


Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub with the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred the chicken in large bite-sized pieces.

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

Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing (This doesn't whisk easily so I used my blender) and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Add the scallions, sesame seeds and toasted almonds and season to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.