Asian Chicken Salad

Recipe From: Laura Watson

For my ward Christmas party, the theme was 'Christmas-Around-The-World'.  There was a wide variety of international dishes and it was fun to learn about the different Christmas traditions celebrated throughout the world.   

I signed up for an Asian dish and this was the delicious salad I made--- no leftovers so very popular indeed.  The perfect touch was adding mandarin oranges( the original recipe didn't call for em).   I didn't use siracha sauce and never did find black sesame seeds but still tasted like it came from an Asian restaurant.  Enjoy!   

Marinade and Dressing
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 cup canola oil (I used avocado oil--its healthier!)
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sriracha sauce
1 tsp kosher salt
2 chicken breasts (I used cut up chicken thighs & drumsticks--more flavor!) 
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions (white and green parts)

Salad-
1 lb Napa cabbage, very thinly sliced
2 carrots, grated 
3 green onions, thinly sliced and cut on the diagonal
2/3 cup freshly cut cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup slivered almonds, dry toasted
1 tsp white sesame seeds, toasted
1 tsp black sesame seeds, toasted

I added......

1 can mandarin oranges, drained

Marinade. Whisk together the soy sauce, ginger, canola oil, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, and salt to make the marinade. Put the two chicken breasts in a gallon sized zip-top bag and add 3 - 4 Tbsp of the marinade to the chicken.
*NOTE* You are going to reserve the rest of the sauce that we just made (the part that is still in the mixing bowl). It will become the dressing later, and it should never touch the raw chicken.
 Squeeze the air out of the bag so that the marinade comes into contact with the meat. With a meat pounder (or heavy pan, or empty bottle), pound the breasts to a uniform thickness. This will allow them to cook more evenly and also help tenderize the meat. Allow the flattened chicken breasts to marinade 30 minutes.
Dressing. To the reserved marinade, add in the 1/4 cup each of red wine vinegar and sliced green onions. Now we have the dressing.
Grill the chicken. Add the marinated chicken to saucepan. Cook them about 4 minutes per side or until no pink. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and allow them to rest 15 minutes. Please don't cut them right away... all the juices will run out leaving you with dry meat! After the 15 minutes, you will cut them crosswise into 1/4" inch thick slices.
Salad. Wash the cabbage and PAT DRY the cabbage or you will have a puddle of water in the bottom of bowl. In a large bowl, add the cabbage, carrots, green onions, cilantro, half of the sesame seeds, and half of the almonds. Add the chicken and mix together. Add just enough of the dressing to coat the salad lightly and toss together. Too much and it will get soggy. Add dressing just before serving--you dont want it to sit in the dressing too long.
Serve. Distribute salad to 4 - 6 plates. Re-whisk the dressing and drizzle a little over each salad. Garnish with the remaining almonds and sesame seeds on each salad.

~ I let my chicken marinade a little bit longer so that the flavors could soak in a bit more. 

~ Next time I will add some lettuce just to give it a little more variety.