Asian Chicken Salad

In drafting this recipe I realized this is probably one of my most involved dishes, not necessarily for the time or difficulty level, but the amount of effort it takes to explain! This blog has definitely taught me that I do not follow a step by step process when I cook, and has provided me with the opportunity to be held accountable for what the heck I am doing in the kitchen!

This is THE Asian Chicken Salad.  A favorite at our place.  Full of tons of dynamic ingredients, leafy greens, and flavor, flavor, flavor.  Did I mention the flavor?

This is a step by step on how to wow your friends and family with this healthy ethnic dish!

Asian Chicken Salad:

1-2 pounds of Chicken cut into easy-to-cook strips

3 stalks of Green Onion

1 bunch of Cilantro

1 bunch of Nappa Cabbage (pictured below)

1 bag of Romaine Lettuce

1/2 cup of crushed Almonds

1 package of Oriental or Chicken Ramen (Noodles broken up and packet set aside for dressing)

Dressing:

1 Ramen flavoring packet

3 tablespoons of Oil (vegetable or canola)

A couple squirts of Sriracha Hot Sauce

1 teaspoon of Sesame Oil

1 tablespoon of Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon of Rice Wine Vinegar

First, mix all of the ingredients listed under the dressing section together in a small bowl and whisk together.  Then set aside.

Heat the stove to a medium-high heat.  After seasoning the chicken with salt and pepper, cook 2-3 minutes on either side (depending on how thick the pieces are).  Normally when it is about done I cut it into pieces in the pan.  Set aside.



Next, chop all of the greens.  This includes the scallions, cilantro, and nappa cabbage into small pieces (salad like pieces).  Mix all of these in a bowl with the bag of romaine pieces.



After all of the greens are taken care of, empty the broken up pieces of dry ramen into the same bowl.  Then add the crushed up almonds (easily done with a ziploc bag and a bottle of wine :)



After you have added all of the current ingredients into the bowl, pour all of the dressing into the bowl and add the cut pieces of chicken.  Mix thoroughly with a fork until the dressing covers all of the ingredients completely.  Spoon onto a plate, and SERVE! Your taste buds won't know what hit 'em.



TIP: It may seem like the dressing has a lot of random ingredients.  Luckily, because I cook all sorts of meals with these ingredients I always have them on hand.  If you are someone who is interested in trying all different type of asian inspired meals I would definitely invest ($15) in the asian sauce staples; rice wine vinegar, sriracha, sesame oil, and soy sauce.