The basic ingredients in this versatile salad are rice and chicken.
Add green vegetables and a flavorful Asian dressing and you're off to a good start. The rice needs to be cooked ahead of time and cooled. The chicken can be white meat, dark meat, or both. It can be cooked at home, or come from a deli. Jane Brody describes this salad in her Good Food Book . Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients, you don't need them all. Pick and choose what you like, and can get easily. Let your salad be a surprise each time you make it.
SALAD INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups cooked slivered chicken breasts (or rotisserie chicken, smoked turkey breast, or chicken pieces cooked in broth)
- 3 cups cooked rice (white or brown, ¾ cup uncooked)
- Vegetables in original recipe:
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1/2 cup sliced scallions
- 5 radishes, thinly sliced
- 1/4 pound snow peas, blanched for 1 minute and cut diagonally into slivers
- Other good vegetables:
- Parsley
- Sweet onion
- Cooked peas
- Bok choy
- Nappa cabbage
- Red pepper
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- 1 cup loosely packed watercress
DRESSING INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Oriental sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (1/8 teaspoon of dry ginger)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon salad oil
Alternate DRESSING : Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 tablespoons. Honey
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
PROCEDURE
1. In a medium bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients. Add the slivered cooked chicken, and let it stand for 30 minutes or longer.
2. Combine the chicken and dressing with the rice and vegetables. Toss the salad. Add the watercress just before serving, and toss the salad again.
Happy Cooking,
Ruth Ann