Asian Chicken Salad

Every four to five weeks I get on a health kick and try to make healthier foods.  It usually lasts about 2-3 posts, but I am going to try to make it this time.    Ok, I will probably fail, but at least this chicken salad recipe is awesome!  The marinated chicken is awesome and could definitely be a main dish without the salad.  The marinade is out of this world, it is a mix of honey, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and rice vinegar.  So delicious!

Asian Chicken Salad – Makes two large salads

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 3 cups shredded romaine lettuce
• 1 cup red cabbage, shredded
• 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and deveined, thinly sliced
• 1 cup snow peas
• 2 tablespoons fresh Thai basil leaves, hand shredded
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Chicken Marinade

• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tbs honey
• 2 tbs sesame oil
• 1 tbs grated fresh ginger
• 1 tbs toasted sesame seeds
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper

Salad Dressing

• 1/4 cup peanut oil
• 2 tbs soy sauce
• 3 tbs rice vinegar
• 1 tbs honey
• 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp diced garlic
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
• pinch freshly ground black pepper

Whisk the marinade ingredients together.

Then place the chicken breasts in a zip top bag and then pour the marinade over them.  Let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Preheat your grill to medium/high heat.  Place the chicken directly over the heat source and cook till the juices run clear.  I find that with large chicken breasts it is easiest to grill them over direct heat for 5-6 minutes on each side.  Then to transfer them to an indirect portion of the grill and let them finish cooking for another 15-20 minutes.  That way they get the great grill marks without burning.

When fully cooked remove the chicken to a cutting board and let rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.

While the chicken is resting make the salad dressing and assemble the salads.

For the dressing, place the ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.  You can season with salt to taste. Depending on your soy sauce, you may not need any salt.

To assemble the salads, in a large bowl mix together the lettuce, cabbage, snow peas, red pepper, carrot, and Thai basil.

Place the individual portions in each bowl.  Then top with the sesame seeds and slivered almonds.

Thinly slice the chicken and place on top of the salad.  Finally top with the dressing and serve.

The salad was delicious.  Even Dana loved it.  She is my hardest critic and she was raving about it all night.