A summertime favorite! An easy Asian flavored salad with homemade dressing, topped with chopped and grilled teriyaki chicken.
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- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil optional, see notes
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil see notes, I use canola
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 8 oz package dried rice noodles See notes; I use chow mein noodles
- 1 head iceberg lettuce rinsed, dried & chopped (See Notes)
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded
- 3 green onions chopped
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds toasted
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds toasted (See Notes; my addition)
- 1 can mandarin oranges drained (See Notes; my addition)
Ingredients
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- Original Recipe Instructions (See Notes below for how I adapt this for the two of us):
- Prepare the dressing at least 30 minutes ahead of time (or early in the day) by combining the brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, salad oil, and rice vinegar. Mix well and store in the refrigerator.
- To prepare the Chinese rice noodles, heat a skillet with a few tablespoons of oil and break off a little bit of the noodles and add them to the skillet and fry them. They will puff up in the skillet, so only add a few at a time. As they begin to puff up, remove and drain them on paper towels. Be sure to cook long enough as the under cooked noodles will not be edible. Once cooked, add them to the salad mixture.
- In a large bowl combine the iceberg lettuce, cooked and shredded chicken, green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Let chill about 10 minutes, and just before serving add the cooked rice noodles.
- Serve in salad bowls and offer the dressing so your family can add as much dressing as they want. Alternately, you can also pour the dressing over the top of the salad, toss, and serve immediately.
Stacy's Notes - I've been making this for a long time, with many changes from the original recipe as posted above. I don't ever use the rice noodles and puff them up in the skillet. I just use crunchy chow mein noodles from the grocery store, that's enough crunch for me 🙂
I make twice the amount of dressing early in the day and let it sit in the fridge. Yes, I halve the chicken but I make twice the dressing, hahaha! I don't use the full amount of sesame oil in the dressing, just a couple of shakes.
I used 2 boneless skinless breasts for the two of us. I marinate them for a couple of hours in teriyaki sauce. If I don't have teriyaki sauce on hand, I usually just mix up my own marinade. If I have hoisin on hand, I usually add some of that as Tim loves hoisin (barbecue) sauce. Normally I mix equal parts brown sugar (about 1/3 cup) with soy sauce or Bragg liquid aminos, then stir in a couple of tablespoons of rice wine vinegar. I season with refrigerated chopped/minced garlic and ginger and then add some pepper (soy sauce is salty, but if I use Braggs, I also add a pinch of salt). If you want it a little spicy, add some red chili flakes or even a squirt of sriracha.
Grill the chicken, indoors or outside on a grill until done. You can shred or cube the chicken. I serve over whatever lettuce I have on hand (iceberg, romaine, leaf lettuce, whatever I have, although this is probably better on a sturdier, crunchier lettuce like iceberg or romaine). I top with canned chow mein noodles instead of the rice noodles. Also, I usually toast whatever sliced or slivered almonds I have in a small, nonstick skillet on the stovetop, just for a couple of minutes. Same with white sesame seeds, or I buy sesame seeds that are already toasted. I drain a can of mandarin oranges and eat on my salad, but Tim doesn't like that, so we skip that for his.
Enjoy!