Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Chinese Chicken Salad

1/2 Cooked Chicken, skinless and cut into bite size pieces
1 Head of Lettuce
1 Bunch of Cilantro, chopped
1 Bunch of Green Onions, chopped
1/2 Cup Sliced Almonds, toastedand broken into small pieces
Saifun (bean threads)

To prepare the Saifun, you need to heat a skillet with oil, or you can use a deep fryer. Break the Saifun up, as it is packaged in about 3 bundles. I usually cut it with the kitchen shears.

When the oil is hot, test a couple of threads of Saifun, drop them in the oil, if it is hot enough, the Saifun will pop up just like popcorn. Pop as much as you would like to put in your salad,and drain it on some paper towels. Be careful, as this stuff pops very fast once you start.

In a bowl, mix chopped lettuce,cilantro, and green onions.Add chopped chicken. Toast almond slices, or slivers in over at 300 degrees until nice, and brown, let cool, and break in to small pieces. After Saifun has cooled, and drained, break into small pieces, and add almonds to it. This goes on top of the salad right before serving, and just before pouring the dressing, and tossing together.

Now the dressing is a bit tricky, only because after being out of high school for 16 years, I lost the recipe for the dressing, but remember the ingredients, just not the measurements. So I usually go by taste, but the Sesame Seed Oil really gives it the taste.

Dressing

1/4 Cup Toasted Sesame Seeds (optional)
1 Cup Gran. Sugar
1/2 Cup Rice Wine Vinegar
4 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar
1 Cup Salad Oil
4 Tbsp. Sesame Seed Oil

To toast the seeds, place in a foil pouch,and using tongs, hold over an open flame on the stove, and shake the pouch lightly. You will hear the sesame seeds start to pop, when they have stopped popping, remove from heat, and set aside while you make the dressing.

Mix all ingredients together, til well blended,and sugar is disolved. Add salt to taste. It should taste almost like a sweet, and sour vinegratte, but with the flavor of the sesame seed oil. You might need to readjust to you prefrence of flavor. Add in toasted sesames, and mix together. Add dressing to salad at time of serving, and toss to coat well, if you add the dressing too soon, the salad will wilt from the oil.

Also, if you don't care for the Saifun, or can't get any you may substitute with those fried noodles that you get at Chinese Restuarants, and I have also heard that you can use the noodles from Top Ramen, but being that my family expects me to fry the Saifun all the time, I have never tried the other ways.


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