The origin of the “Chinese Chicken Salad” is a little murky, but the first versions of this dish appeared in cookbooks from as early as the 1930s. Recipes across the country vary, but a Chinese Chicken Salad will always have an element of crunch, sweetness, and usually umami. There are mandarin orange slices (canned or fresh), alongside a crunchy noodle or an almond. The chicken is boneless, sometimes poached, and sometimes roasted. There is lettuce—almost always iceberg, but sometimes romaine—tossed with a dressing that features soy sauce and sesame sauce and sometimes ginger. However, I knew that I wanted to get creative in the kitchen and create my OWN version of the Chinese Chicken Salad. That is where this recipe was created! I started it off by using my beautiful Asian Blend from The Chef’s Garden, which was the perfect base for this salad. Way more exciting than your typical Iceberg or Romaine Lettuce. Haha! I also topped it off by adding my vibrant Raddhico and Arrowhead Cabbage from The Chef’s Garden, as well. And lastly, I added some mandarin oranges, peanuts, and sesame seeds. The awesome dressing that I used for this salad is the Seasame Ginger Dressing by Primal Kitchen. It was the perfect ingredient to finish off this salad. Nowadays, the Chinese Chicken Salad feels as retro as eating grapefruit exclusively for breakfast. It’s a holdover from a time when Asian ingredients like soy sauce, ginger, and star anise were truly exotic. Do you have your own version of a Chinese Chicken Salad? What do you like to add to yours? I would love to know!
Ingredients
- 4 cups Asian Blend Farmer Jone's Farm at The Chef's Garden
- 1 cup Arrowhead Cabbage, Thinly Sliced Farmer Jone's Farm at The Chef's Garden
- 1 cup Radicchio, Thinly Sliced Farmer Jone's Farm at The Chef's Garden
- 2 cans Manderin Oranges
- 1/4 cup Roasted & Salted Peanuts
- 1/4 cup Green Onions, Sliced
- 1 tbsp White Sesame Seeds Spicely Organics
- 1 tbsp Black Sesame Seeds Spicely Organics
- Sesame Ginger Dressing Primal Kitchen
Chicken
- 2 Chicken Breasts Greensbury Market
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil Garcia De La Cruz
- 3 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Fresh Thyme
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder Spicely Organics
- Himalayan Pink Salt
- Peppercorn Black Spicely Organics
Instructions
Chicken
- Cut the chicken breast in half widthwise. Cover one portion in plastic wrap to stop chicken juice from flying around your kitchen when you pound it.
- Pound it to an even thickness.
- Once all of your portions have been pounded to an even thickness, put them into a zip-top bag or a large bowl. In a medium bowl combine the olive oil, lemon juice, thyme, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Pour it over the chicken breasts. Refrigerate for an hour at most. You’re just trying to get some flavor on there.
- Oil your grill grates.
- Once your grill is at the right temperature, remove the chicken breasts from the marinade, shaking off any excess. Put the chicken breasts on the grill in a single layer, as spaced out as you can. Cook for about 4 minutes per side. You want it to read 165ºF. They’ll be nice and brown with good char marks when they’re done.
- Take them off of the grill and put them on a clean serving plate. Let them rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- Combine the salad ingredients.
- Dress the salad.
- Enjoy!
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