I’m excited to finally post my first Cook This Not That recipe! You guys are really going to be excited about these! At least, I think you will! If you think the cabbage seems a little weird as the base of this salad, it’s actually quite wonderful. You’ve probably had Japanese Chicken Salad before and this Chinese Chicken Salad is very similar to that. I mentioned in my previous post that you will have most ingredients on hand for most of the recipes. This one is an exception, you probably won’t have many of the ingredients on hand – however you will want to put them on your grocery list, because I guarantee you will want to make this. The dressing for this salad is awesome! If you have trouble hunting down peanut oil, it’s in the aisle right along with vegetable and olive oil. I didn’t find it at Target, but I did find it at WalMart. Once sliced, the cabbage makes A LOT of salad, you will be having this meal for leftovers for a few days. Or, make this when you are having people over! Best thing about it is that it makes a perfect meal and has very little calories compared to the alternative.
Ingredients
- 1 head Napa cabbage
- 1/2 head red cabbage
- 1/2 tbsp. sugar
- 2 c. chopped or shredded cooked chicken freshly grilled or from a store-bought rotisserie chicken
- 1/3 c. Asian Vinaigrette see below
- 1 c. fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 c. canned mandarin oranges drained
- 1/4 c. sliced almonds toasted
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Asian Vinaigrette
- 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 c. peanut oil
- 1 tsp. sugar
Instructions
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Slice the cabbages in half lengthwise and remove cores. Slice the cabbage into thin strips. Toss with the sugar in a large bowl.
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If the chicken is cold, toss with a few tablespoons of vinaigrette and heat in a microwave at 50% power.
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Add chicken to the cabbage, along with the cilantro, mandarins, almonds, and the remaining vinaigrette. Toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
Recipe Notes
Cook This instead of enjoying Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad:
Calories: 1430
Saturated fat: 16 grams
Carbohydrates: 93 grams
[My 2 Cents]
When I made this I didn't coat the chicken with dressing and mix it all together. I wanted to be able to salvage leftovers without having a soggy salad. So I tossed and assembled each bowl and then drizzled a little dressing on each individual bowl. I then refrigerated the leftovers in separate containers. One for the cabbage. One for the chicken. A little baggie for the oranges. A baggie for the almonds. You get the idea. I also stored the dressing in a mason jar. It doesn't last long (you will devour it quickly), and the cabbage out lasts it - so plan on making a few mixes of the dressing.
Peanut oil is actually a great oil to have on hand, so don't fret about having to buy it. It's really cheap too. Toasted sesame oil is also nice to have on hand. If you want something else to use it in, it's popular in Chinese dishes. I have used it in a small handful of recipes I have on the site.
Adapted from Cook This Not That, David Zinczenco and Matt Goulding
cortney
can I come live with you? your food always sounds so good and I am too lazy to cook most of the time :)
thanks for sharing! I love to know good things to try.