oriental chicken salad

this is our attempt to recreate the chinese chicken salad from california pizza kitchen

chicken:

1/4 c teriyaki sauce

2 t olive oil

1 t minced garlic

1 t minced fresh ginger

1 to 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

salad:

greenleaf or iceberg lettuce, washed, dried, and cut into 1/8"-wide strips

romaine lettuce, washed, dried, and cut into 1/8"-wide strips

1 c shredded carrots

1/3 c sesame seeds, toasted

1/3 c minced fresh cilantro

1 red or yellow bell pepper, julienned

1 cucumber, seeds scooped out and julienned

12 large fresh basil leaves, cut crosswise into thin strips

1 large bunch scallions, thinly sliced, both green and white parts

dressing:

1 c bottle hoisin sauce

3 oz red wine vinegar

2 T minced fresh ginger

2 T Dijon mustard

1 1/2 t Vietnamese chili sauce

1/2 c olive oil

2 T toasted sesame oil

Put all the dressing ingredients except the 2 oils in a mixing bowl. Blend thoroughly with a handheld electric mixer or a whisk. Then, mixing or whisking continuously, slowly pour in the olive an sesame oils, stirring until thoroughly blended. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Preheat a stovetop grill or the broiler. In a mixing bowl, stir together the teriyaki sauce, olive oil, garlic and ginger. Coat the chicken with the marinade and leave them to sit for 10 minutes at room temperature. Grill or broil the chicken until cooked through, 5-6 minutes per side. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, then cut crosswise into 1/4" strips. Cover and refrigerate.

Combine lettuces, carrots, peppers, cucumbers, toasted sesame seeds, cilantro, and basil. Add most of scallions and some dressing. Toss to combine. Transfer to serving plates. Arrange chicken strips on top of each salad. Drizzle a little salad dressing on top and garnish with remaining scallions.

Asian Vegetable Salad

Serves 2

2 tbsp soy sauce
½ tbsp honey
½ tbsp fresh ginger, finely diced
½ tsp chilli flakes (optional)
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
75g fine Chinese egg noodles
85g mangetout, trimmed
115g red cabbage, finely sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced into julienne (matchstick-sized) strips
¼ cucumber, peeled and sliced into julienne strips
2 spring onions, finely sliced
115g fresh bean sprouts
115g tofu, diced into small cubes
Juice of lime
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the soy sauce, honey and ginger and chilli, if using, in a small saucepan. Set over a low heat and keep just below boiling point for 2-3 minutes. Pour the sesame oil into the warm ginger soy sauce and whisk in the vinegar. Tip into a large mixing bowl.

Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions — usually, this is to drop them into a pan of boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain thoroughly and shake dry, then mix into the ginger soy sauce.

Bring a pan of water to the boil, then add the mangetout to the pan. Slowly count to 10, then drain the mangetout and cool under the cold tap. Pat dry on kitchen paper and finely slice at an angle. Mix into the noodles with the sliced cabbage, carrots, cucumber, spring onions and bean sprouts. Pat dry the diced tofu and add to the bowl. Add the lime juice, adjust the seasoning to taste and serve.