Asian chicken salad

This is another one of those more general suggestion, rather than strict recipe, type things. I really like it this way, but there are plenty of ways to modify if you hate cilantro, are allergic to nuts, are vegetarian, etc. But I love this as a satisfying and substantial lunch salad that actually keeps in the fridge for a few days. It is a perfect take-to-work meal.

One of my favorite uses for a pre-cooked chicken

Every once in a while, roasted or rotisserie chickens are really cheap in the grocery store. You can also find them marked down once they are nearing the end of their lives under the heat lamp. Of course, you can eat it as is with a side or two, but there are so many other possibilities. Also, don’t forget to save the carcass to make stock! And if you want to make this and don’t have a cheap chicken, you can always use leftover chicken or grill/broil/pan fry some chicken breast to use in its place. For the salad, you’ll need a bag of coleslaw mix or a half head of cabbage. I am using the mix here because it was almost free at Dominick’s after a coupon from the Tony Tantillo produce newsletter, which happens with some regularity. Then get a carrot, 4 green onions, and a cup of cilantro leaves. For the dressing, grab a jalapeño (and I encourage you to use one larger than I have pictured – my garden was not cooperating), grated fresh ginger, a lime, vegetable oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar. Finally, get some almonds and sesame seeds to add a bit of crunch that doesn’t involve smashing a bag of ramen noodles (as tasty as that may sound). Everything here is pretty cheap other than the sesame oil and seeds and the almonds. But if you like sesame oil, you should have it in the house since you need so little to get a lot of flavor. Same goes with the seeds. And I highly suggest stocking up on almonds when they are cheap because you can use them for all sorts of dishes and they are a great snack. And if you don’t have almonds, use peanuts, ome other nut, or no nuts. Like I said, this one is whatever you want it to be.

We’re basically mixing this all together

Pull the chicken from the bones and discard the skin. Shred a carrot (and your cabbage if it isn’t done already). Toast a tablespoon of sesame seeds and ¼ cup of almonds over medium heat until they look…uhh, toasted? Almonds can be silvered, sliced, chopped, whatever. Someone ate all of my unsalted almonds, so I had to rinse the salt from a can of salty ones for this.

Put the cabbage or slaw mix into a large bowl, add the shredded carrot. Slice four green onions and roughly chop about a cup of cilantro leaves, and dump those in the bowl.

Juice a lime or two, going for two tablespoons yield. Put the juice in a small bowl with two tablespoons each or soy sauce and rice vinegar and two teaspoons of sugar. Finely mince the jalapeño, leaving in as much of the ribs and seeds as you like for spiciness. Grate the ginger into the mixture

Add the chicken and nut/seed mixture to the bowl of vegetables.

Add a tablespoon each of vegetable and dark sesame oil and whisk until it magically becomes a suspension. This never fails to impress me!

Pour in the dressing and gently toss until everything is coated and well combined. You can eat it right away or save it in the fridge for a day or two.