Ginger Chicken With Crisp Napa Salad Food

GINGER CHICKEN WITH CRISP NAPA SALAD

Steps:

• Place chicken breasts between two sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin or a bottle, pound each to an even ½-inch thickness. Season both sides with salt.
• In a small bowl, combine the ginger, garlic, cilantro, cayenne and 4 tablespoons oil. Finely grate the lime zest directly into the bowl; reserve the lime. Rub both sides of the chicken breasts with the marinade. Let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cut the cabbage lengthwise, core it, then slice crosswise into ½-inch-thick strips. Transfer to a large bowl and toss in the cucumber slices, chives and mint leaves.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in 1 tablespoon oil and heat until shimmering, about 1 minute. Place the chicken breasts in the skillet and cook, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Cut the reserved lime in half and squeeze the juice over the chicken; slice the chicken. Transfer the chicken to serving plates and slice.
• Toss the cabbage mixture with the vinegar and remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Season to taste with salt and serve alongside the chicken.

CRUNCHY CABBAGE SALAD WITH CHICKEN AND ORANGE GINGER DRESSING

Steps:

• For the salad: Remove the skin from the chicken and shred the meat with a fork. Toss in a large bowl along with the scallions, red pepper, cabbage, lettuce, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, cilantro, peanuts and chow mein noodles. With a sharp knife, cut the peel from one of the oranges, then cut the segments away from the membranes. Coarsely chop the segments, then add them to the bowl. Slice the other orange in half and squeeze over a small bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons juice.
• Make the dressing: Whisk together the reserved orange juice, hoisin sauce, vinegar, ginger and garlic in a small bowl. Slowly add the oil, whisking constantly, until emulsified and thick; season with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad, then season with salt and pepper. Toss and serve.

SESAME CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• Place chicken in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Whisk soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger for marinade together in a small bowl; pour over chicken and toss to evenly coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator, 8 hours to overnight.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Combine mayonnaise, sesame oil, sugar, and ginger for dressing in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate while you cook the chicken.
• Remove chicken from the marinade and shake off excess. Discard the remaining marinade.
• Cook chicken on the preheated grill until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 10 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove from the grill and chop when cool enough to handle.
• While the chicken is cooking, place sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium-high heat. Shake the pan like you are making popcorn and toast until seeds give off a lovely toasted smell, 3 to 5 minutes. Quickly remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl to cool; if you leave them in the pan they will continue to cook and burn.
• Place napa cabbage, green cabbage, and carrot in a large bowl with chicken and toasted sesame seeds. Toss together, then mix in the dressing. Divide salad onto plates and top with crispy fried noodles.

HEALTHY NAPA CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• For the tarragon yogurt dressing: Put the yogurt, mustard, honey, vinegar, celery seed and tarragon in a small bowl. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and about 1/8 teaspoon pepper and whisk to combine.
• For the chicken salad: Combine the chicken, grapes, almonds, celery and onion in a medium bowl. Add the dressing to the chicken mixture and toss until evenly coated.
• Serve the chicken salad on top of butter lettuce, cucumber slices, rice cakes, your favorite bread or even by itself!

CRISPY CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• Prepare the marinade in a bowl. Rinse the chicken breast halves, pat dry with paper towels and pierce them with a needle type tenderizing tool such as the Deni tenderizing tool. Add the chicken breast halves to the bowl of marinade, toss to coat, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator till the grill is ready.
• Heat the oil in a deep fryer or a deep cast iron skillet to 400 degrees F. If using a skillet, add enough oil to at least 1 inch deep with oil. Gently separate the rice sticks as much as you can and drop into the hot oil. It should only take a second or two for the rice sticks to completely puff up. Remove from oil and immediately drain on paper towels and set aside.
• In a small bowl, mix the sesame-ginger salad dressing and desired amount of Sriracha sauce, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator till needed.
• Prepare an outdoor grill for grilling. Grill the chicken till the juices run clear and the meat is no longer pink (internal temperature of 165 degrees F). Remove the cooked meat from the grill and allow the meat to rest for 5 minutes. Shred the meat with a couple of forks, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator till the rest of the salad is prepared.
• Rinse and shred the lettuce and cabbage then divide it between two serving bowls. Top each salad serving with equal amounts of shredded carrots, sliced celery, sliced scallions and shredded cooked chicken. Pour the salad dressing over each serving and top each serving with and equal amount of fried rice sticks.