Sesame Chicken Salad

Ingredients - serves 4

Marinade and dessing

• ¼ cup soy sauce

• 3 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

• ¼ 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

• ¼ cup red wine vinegar

• ¼ 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

• ⅔ cup freshly cut cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

• ½ cup slivered almonds, dry toasted

• 1 tsp white sesame seeds, toasted

• 1 tsp black sesame seeds, toasted.

Instructions

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 over the chicken.

• Reserve the rest of the marinade for the dressing.

• 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 vinegar and green onions.

Grill the chicken

• To a hot grill pan (or 'regular' pan ), add the marinated chicken breasts.

• Cook them about 4 minutes per side or until there is no signs of pink and juices run clear when pierced with a small, sharp knife.

• Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and allow them to rest 15 minutes.

• Don't cut them right away... all the juices will run out leaving you with dry meat!

• After the 15 minutes, cut them crosswise into ¼" inch thick slices.

Salad

• 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.

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.

Last edited on: 2022-06-20