Today was one of the first hot days of summer in Osaka. We rushed home from our evening kids’ classes and felt like something that was fast and refreshing. After looking over a few recipes for Chinese Chicken Salad on allrecipes.com this is what we came up with. The addition of the instant ramen noodles reminds me of a whitewater rafting trip my family and I took a few years ago in Oregon. The cute, young river-guides prepared a salad reminiscent of this one, while the rest of us waded in the water of the Rouge River. Oh, and we made the cashews because I love something sweet and spicy to eat alongside the salad. They compliment the Asian flavors well!
What we drank: 2004 Luna Bianco, Italy
For the Dressing:
2 teaspoons brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 tablespoons rice (or sushi) vinegar
For the Salad:
A little less than half of a head of lettuce, chopped
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, boiled and shredded
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
1 green onion, chopped
1 small can of mandarin oranges
1 package of instant ramen noodles (discarding the seasoning packet)
For the Cashews:
a few handfuls of salted cashews
honey
sesame seeds
chili powder
- Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- In a large bowl place the lettuce, green onion, sesame seeds and chicken. Toss with your fingers. Place in fridge to cool for 10 minutes.
- While the salad is chilling, spread the cashews onto a cookie sheet. Drizzle with honey. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chili powder to taste. Mix with your fingers, coating all the cashews. Bake for 10 minutes. Stir. Bake for 3-5 min. more or until just barely golden. Remove while hot to a non-stick surface and allow to cool.
- Take the salad out of the fridge and add the ramen noodles. Dress, toss, arrange mandarin oranges, and serve with cashews on the side (or feel free to sprinkle on top if you desire)!
