Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad

It’s almost Summer and that means more than bikini season (as I have mentioned more than once recently, I know), it also means that we’re getting into picnic and party season.  Usually that means you’ll be requested to bring something to a holiday party, picnic, birthday party, shower…well you get the idea.  If you’re the one who has the reputation for always bringing the store bought whatever…I’ve got a recipe that’s going to help you lose that label (trust me, that’s not something you want to be permanently tagged with).

I give you ‘Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad.’  Before you start stroking out about how you can’t cook, anything you ever make comes out tasting like crap or you don’t have a kitchen so how could you possibly make something…just stay with me here.  This salad has a zillion different iterations.  Some of them are super easy and some of them can get pretty complicated.  This one keeps things simple, but doesn’t lose any of the great flavors.  This crunchy chicken salad is for a cabbage chicken salad, but you could also use iceberg lettuce if you’ve got some kind of aversion to cabbage, which usually is some kind of not so pleasant digestive issue, either way…you’re still going to get a crunchy chicken salad when your done.

This is something that I make for dinner whenever I can get my hands on in season cabbage.  The sweetness of the cabbage makes for a great flavor combination with the Chinese salad dressing recipe that I use.  But it also works perfectly when you’re looking for an easy picnic recipe or recipes for showers.  You can put together all of the  salad ingredients in one container and the dressing ingredients in another. Once you arrive at the party, or picnic, just pour the dressing into the chicken salad, mix and you’re done.  No more Mr./Ms. store bought whatever person.

Relationship Advice

What women really mean when they say they want a sensitive man…one who shares his feelings.  Let’s start by what we don’t want.  We don’t want a guy who’s penning poetry (unless we’re in college, because we’ve watched 10 Things I Hate About You a few too many times and we still like that idea of the tortured soul penning his feelings) or a guy who’s going off on crying jags.  What we want is a guy to share his thoughts with us so that we feel included in his world.  Let us in on your closed little world when you’re sitting there all quiet looking like you’re trying to solve the world’s financial problems.  When we ask what you’re thinking, we’re not trying to be nosy or get all “up in your junk,” we’re just trying to feel a little bit closer to you by fitting into your world.  When you don’t include us, we feel like we’re watching Walter Mitty having an episode and it can be uncomfortable.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
Chinese Chicken Salad Recipe

1 Small Head Cabbage Cored and Sliced Thin (or 16 Ounce Package Cabbage Coleslaw Mix without Carrots or a medium head of iceberg lettuce chopped to small pieces)
1 Bunch Green Onions (whites and greens sliced into thin rings)
1 Package Ramen Noodles (remove seasoning packet and crush dry noodles)*
1 Cup Cooked Chicken Chopped to 1/2″ Dice
1/4 Cup Roasted and Salted Almonds (roughly chopped)

Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing Recipe

1 Tablespoon of Sugar or Agave Nectar
1-2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt (start out with 1 tablespoon and add more if necessary)
1/2 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/4 Cup Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Toasted Sesame Oil
1/3 Cup Canola Oil

Directions

In a small container add first 5 ingredients.  Stir to combine.  If you use sugar, you’ll need to heat the mixture until the sugar melts into the mixture.  If you use agave nectar, you won’t need to heat the mixture to get everything to combine.

Add in the vinegar and oils.  Stir to combine.

Cover and set aside.

In a large bowl combine chopped cabbage and green onions.  Mix to combine.

Sprinkle crushed ramen noodles on top of cabbage and onions.

Spread chopped chicken on top of ramen noodles.

Sprinkle chopped almonds on top of chicken.

Cover and chill.

Just before serving, stir dressing to combine and then add to salad ingredients.

Stir to combine and serve.

*Ramen noodles are optional

Technorati Tags: asian chicken salad, Chicken Recipes, chinese salad, Easy Chicken Recipes, Easy Cooking, easy picnic recipes, Easy Recipe, Easy Recipes, Fast Dinner Recipe, Healthy Cooking, Healthy Eating, Healthy Recipes, Lite Cooking, Main Course, recipes for showers, Relationship Advice, salad dressing recipe, Salad Recipe, vegetable recipes

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