Most Excellent Lite Oriental Chicken Salad
This is a light and refreshing salad. Perfect for dinner on a hot, summer day OR as a side dish (just leave out the chicken). Great addition to a potluck – easy to transport and mix on-site!
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 to 8 1x
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, poached (see Poached Chicken Breast Tenders)
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 1½ teaspoon granulated garlic, divided
- 1½ teaspoon ground ginger, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 – 20 ounce can of pineapple chunks, drained with juice reserved
- 1 small head of cabbage
- 1 package of chicken-flavored Top Ramen noodles
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ cup canola oil
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Poach chicken breasts (see Poached Chicken Breast Tenders).
- Make the marinade: in small saucepan, add soy sauce, 1 teaspoon granulated garlic, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, all the ground mustard, brown sugar, all the reserved pineapple juice plus 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar.
- Simmer fifteen minutes.
- Cut poach chicken breasts into chunks and add to the soy sauce (now teriyaki sauce) mixture, stir to coat, shut off stove heat and let chicken teriyaki mixture steep for 15 minutes.
- Chop cabbage and place in large mixing bowl.
- Cut the pineapple chunks in half and add to cabbage.
- Make the salad dressing: in a shaker or small bowl, add canola oil, water, ½ cup rice vinegar, granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon granulated garlic, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, sesame seeds and packet from the ramen noodle mix.
- Shake well or whisk to combine.
- Saute’ almonds in butter over medium heat, being careful not to burn; add to cabbage.
- Drain chicken and add chicken to cabbage mixture.
- Crush ramen noodles and add to cabbage mixture.
- Shake dressing again and add to cabbage mixture and toss thoroughly to coat.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
This salad does not keep well. And, this recipe makes 6 very hearty servings. So, for a smaller family, cut this recipe in half. If you have leftovers, the cabbage and ramen noodles will get soggy and the salad will not taste as good as when freshly made. If you like a oilier dressing, skip the water and increase the canola oil to 1 cup. I cut this in half many years ago when experimenting with this salad and found we don’t miss the added oil. If you want to cut the calories even further, skip the butter and just toast the almonds in a dry pan. Do not leave unattended or almonds will burn. This makes a great potluck dish. Just pack everything separately in baggies and take a large bowl to toss it all together at the potluck site. It makes about 20 potluck servings (because people take so little at potlucks since they want a bite of everything!). Make it your own: (1) Add raw Julienne carrots to the salad for added nutrition and color. (2) Don’t like pineapple? Leave it out. Add oranges instead. (3) Like onions? Add sliced green onions cut on the diagonal for a bit of spice and more color. (4) Make it vegetarian: leave out the chicken and the ramen packet mix (has chicken AND MSG in it). You won’t miss either! But, be sure to add the ramen noodles for crunch. (5) Add both pineapple and oranges for an extra colorful meal. (6) Make it quick: buy store-bought teriyaki sauce or even store-bought teriyaki chicken. Buy pre-shredded cabbage. And, buy an oriental salad dressing. You will have dinner ready “In a Jif”! (7) Serve grilled teriyaki chicken breasts. Marinate defrosted chicken breasts in teriyaki marinade in the refrigerator in a plastic bag for 30 minutes. Grill in an indoor grill pan or on your outdoor barbecue grill. Serve whole with the vegetarian salad on the side OR chop and add to salad for a meal-in-one.
Find it online: https://tootsweet4two.com/oriental-chicken-salad/
