Chinese Chicken Salad with a Crunch!

Please join me in in declaring that is just plain too hot to cook! But of course – it is never too hot to forgo dinner.

I think I have a tasty and quick solution with this delicious Chinese Chicken Salad with a surprising crunch. All that’s involved is chopping a few veggies and herbs of choice and of course you can play around with that. Next you add leftover grilled chicken (a good reason to grill a little extra)  or rotisserie chicken and finally shake up the dressing in a jar. Then comes the fun part – the crunch! Ramen noodles can always be used for something yummy but not if it means boiling them when the heat index is 105! Instead, I sauteed one half of a package of slightly crushed noodles with some slivered almond for about a minute and used that as the salad topping. It was kind of a fun take on croutons for an Asian dish. This was light and refreshing but quite hearty enough for dinner. A nice summer rosé was the perfect touch. Sherbet and fruit a lovely finish. I think this could be your new go to summer meal. It doesn’t get much easier. Enjoy!

NOTE: Tune in to Talk of the Town Friday, July 7th (11:00 AM CDT) on Newschannel 5 to see a summer favorite.

Chinese Chicken Salad with a Crunch!

Salad

Ingredients (Feel free to make veggie substitutions)

2 cups cooked chicken, grilled, rotisserie, or what ever is most convenient

2 cups sliced cabbage

2 cup shredded Romaine lettuce

4-5 chopped green onions

Matchstick carrots, about ¼ cup (I do this with my vegetable peeler)

Mint leaves and/or basil leaves – to taste

1 pkg ramen noodles – any flavor

2 tsp olive oil

2 Tbsp slivered almonds

Sesame dressing

1/2 cup rice vinegar

2 Tbsp mirin (Japanese sweet cooking wine – can sub any sweet wine or sherry)

2 Tbsp canola

2 tsp sesame oil

3 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp salt

Directions

Combine dressing ingredients in a jar – give it a shake and put it in the refrigerator.

In a large bowl combine chicken, cabbage, lettuce, green onions, carrots. mint, and basil.

In a small skillet heat olive oil to medium high.

Break up half of the ramen noodles into bite size pieces (reserve the rest or just make more).

Add noodles the skillet and cook until crisp – add almond to toast.

Sprinkle with a bit of ramen seasoning or salt.

Add to salad bowl and toss with dressing.