Well the title pretty much says it. I am trying to be healthy, and a good Chinese Chicken Salad is one of the healthiest things I love, Ginger makes me happy. But I just can’t get it right. I have tried a couple off the internet, and they all have something missing, or something just wrong.
All I want is something I can use as a marinade for the chicken before I grill it, and then poour some on the salad too.
Bumpity-bump for one more try.
I don’t know about the chicken part, but all of the asian salads I’ve seen involve cabbage (usually napa), toasted ramen and almonds (or some other nut), and green onions/scallions. Is this about right? In the version I have, the dressing involves a (surprising large, to me) bunch of vegetable oil (like canola), sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce.
The recipe I have is at home, but at a quick glance, looks really similar to this one:
I don’t boil the dressing in a saucepan as recommended; instead, I just put all the ingredients in a container that I can seal tightly (like a jar or one of those disposable ziploc containers) and shake like hell. It works well, and is pretty tasty. No ginger, though - sorry about that. Grating the ginger into the dressing might be nice, and could be worth trying.
Someone brought this salad to a potluck in Seattle in the 70’s – green leaf lettuce, green onions, shredded chicken, and rice/bean thread (fried by handfuls quickly in oil – it expands).
Here’s the dressing:
2 T sugar
1 t salt
2 T soy sauce
1/2 c salad oil
1 t Accent (optional, I’m not even sure you can find it anymore)
1/2 t pepper
2 T sesame oil
4 T rice vinegar
The sesame oil makes this dressing – don’t even try it without it.
I haven’t made it for years – hard to find green leaf lettuce around here, it’s always iceberg and it doesn’t work with iceberg. But the kids loved it, and they especially loved watching the bean threads puff up.
Links? It would help if we knew what you’d tried so far…
(And, by the way, yes, I’ve still seen Accent on the store shelves.)
Chinese Chicken Salad was invented in California in the 80’s by Wolfgang Puck and is unknown in China. The original recipe is here: http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/recipes/view/6907/Chinois-Chicken-Salad
Accent is just MSG with a pedigree.
I use balsamic vinegar, sugar a little oil, soy sauce red pepper, sesame seeds, parsley, ginger & garlic, whisked together.
All I ever do for “Chinese” tasting salads is use soy sauce mixed with the syrup from a canned fruit. Usually, I also include the fruit itself.
I have an online subscription to Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country, and recently tried some Chinese chicken salad recipes from the latter. Here they are, if you’re interested. I found that what I like best is to use the dressing from the “Weeknight Chinese Chicken Salad” recipe (I think the other one is a bit too sweet) and use the cabbage as specified in the “Shanghai Chicken Salad” recipe, which I think works better than lettuce.
Weeknight Chinese Chicken Salad
Makes about 5 1/2 cups
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons rice vinegar or white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
4 scallions, sliced thin
1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup chow mein noodles
Whisk vegetable oil, sesame oil, vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Toss chicken, lettuce, scallions, peanuts, and sesame seeds together in large bowl. Add dressing and toss until coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle chow mein noodles over top and serve immediately.
Shanghai Chicken Salad
Serves 4
1/2 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed, with tenderloins removed
Salt and pepper
1/2 head Napa or Chinese cabbage, shredded
1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced on diagonal
1 cup chow mein noodles
1. Whisk vinegar, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, and sesame oil together in medium bowl. Place chicken in single layer in Dutch oven. Pour 1/2 cup vinegar mixture over chicken breasts; reserve remaining vinegar mixture to use as dressing. Add remaining 1/3 cup soy sauce and 3 cups water to pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer chicken until cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes.
2. Transfer chicken to plate, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cool enough to handle. Shred chicken into long, thin strands using two forks or fingers.
3. Transfer chicken to large serving bowl, toss with 2 tablespoons dressing, and season with salt and pepper. Add cabbage, bell pepper, scallions, and remaining dressing and toss to combine. Sprinkle with chow mein noodles and serve.Hmm Shanghai chicken salad…
I haven’t tried Hoisin in any of my iterations, And I do love that stuff. That may be the missing element. I will have to give a try, thanks. Maybe not a full 1/3 cup though, that does sound a bit sweet.
Another Cook’s Illustrated recipe that we just did tonight calls for a marinade with soy & dry sherry for chicken/scallion/red pepper/napa cabbage stir fry (not a salad, but still). The hot and sour sauce also has sherry as an ingredient. I think it adds a deliciously tangy flavor.