Asian Sesame Chicken Salad

Photo cred: Menu Musings

While searching for a dinner recipe last night, I came across this gem on my Food & Recipes board on Pinterest.  Let me begin by saying, this may be the best Asian chicken salad I have EVER had.  Also, while the ingredients list may look daunting, I promise the end product is worth it. 

Asian Chicken Salad adapted from Curtis Stone's Recipe
Ingredients: 

Marinade and dressing -

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped (I grated mine and felt that it integrated better into the marinade/salad dressing)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sriracha sauce
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 large chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
• 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 (note: this is different than normal green cabbage but can be found in most grocery stores)
• 2 carrots, grated 
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced 
• 2/3 cup freshly cut cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds, dry toasted (note: I left these out of the main batch but added them to my bowl and loved the crunch)
• 1 tsp white sesame seeds, toasted
• 1 cup edamame (these are optional but I love edamame in Asian salads )

Directions:

Marinade-

Whisk together the soy sauce, ginger, canola oil, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, sriracha and salt to make the marinade.  Peel and finely chop or grate the ginger (Tip: I found it easier to grate the ginger as you avoid clumps in your sauce).  Now, pour about 3 tablespoons of the mixture into a ziploc and add chicken.  Squeeze out the excess air and either refrigerate (if doing this the night before) or leave out at room temp. for at least 30 minutes. 

Dressing-

With the remaining mixture, add 1/4 cup of Red Wine Vinegar and sliced green onions.

Chicken-

Once the chicken has been marinaded, add to a pre-heated grill pan (or normal either works).  It should take about 4 minutes on each side. Once cooked, allow the chicken to rest for 15 minutes to cool (this also keeps the chicken moist by allowing the juice to spread evenly throughout the meat).  

Salad: 

Add chopped cabbage, grated carrots, green onions, and cilantro as well as half of the allotted sesame seeds and toasted almonds.   Add chicken and mix together.  Add dressing and mix right before serving.

Enjoy!!