9 April 2009

Chinese Chicken Salad for the Barefoot Bloggers











Once again it is time for the Barefoot Bloggers to join forces and make some delicious recipes from Ina Garten and her league of cookbooks. She is one of my favourites. It is always a "win win situation" because her recipes are always consistent. I haven't come across a recipe yet that hasn't turned out and been a crowd pleaser. This week McKenzie of Kenzie’s Kitchen has chosen Chinese Chicken Salad
which can be found in Barefoot Contessa Parties!
I was preparing this dish for one this time around so opted to add the chicken mixture to some salad greens to round it out. The "dressing" was amazing, but as always I cut back on the salt a little.
The Barefoot Bloggers have prepared 86,185 Friday dinners for Jeffrey!!!! Lucky man!!!!

**Chinese Chicken Salad**

4 split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on)
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound asparagus, ends removed, and cut in thirds diagonally
1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded
2 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally
1 T white sesame seeds, toasted

For the dressing:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup good apple cider vinegar
3 T soy sauce
1 1/2 T dark sesame oil
1/2 T honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp peeled, grated fresh ginger
1/2 T sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub with the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred the chicken in large bite-sized pieces.

Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. Cut the peppers in strips about the size of the asparagus pieces. Combine the cut chicken, asparagus, and peppers in a large bowl.
Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Add the scallions and sesame seeds and season to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.
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33 comments:

  1. Very refeshing and tasty! Wonderful for the warmer days...

    Happy Easter!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Nice and refreshing salad and I love everything sesame.

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  3. That does look delicious. We eat a lot of salads so I'm always looking for new dressings. Thanks for the recipe!

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  4. This salad really appeals - it would make a great lunch to take to work now that spring is here.

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  5. Did you find a "good" apple cider vinegar? I wonder what brands might be better or if I should look for something specific (do they use special apples or does organic do the trick?)

    Great blog - found you through the Noble Pigs blog.

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  6. Hmmmm!!! This salad is all about the dressing!

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  7. That does look like a lovely spring salad and I agree with you about the Barefoot Contessa - her food is always good.

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  8. love this salad.. love Ina Garten too.. happy easter!

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  9. Sounds delish. Am traveling in China right now and it is funny - I would kill for a salad!

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  10. I wish I would've added lettuce to this, yours looks great!

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  11. Since we are getting warmer days in the Valley, I'm starting to eat more salads for lunch. This would be perfect.

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  12. Oh wow, this dressing looks incredible!! I love the addition of peanut butter!

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  13. Looks wonderful! I bet it was great on a bed of salad greens!

    ~Cat

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  14. Hey Scate, I live in a fruit and wine belt so it is easy for me to find a good apple cider vinegar at any fruit stand or gourmet shop. I think any would suffice though:D
    Thanks for all your comments guys!!

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  15. Your salad is beautiful! This was a great choice for spring--lots of color and flavor.

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  16. Nice looking salad, very colourful!

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  17. I've been watching Ina's show also in my incapacitated state. lol. I love how she love to make others happy with her food. (in particular Jeffrey!).

    This chicken salad looks delish!

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  18. That peanut dressing sounds great!

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  19. Chinese chicken salad is the best! It always seems to please most everybody and the pickiest of palettes!

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  20. That salad looks lovely!

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  21. Val I love anything chinese and this is perfect.

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  22. A really great way to doll up greens and chicken. The peanut addition is terrific.

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  23. The dressing sounds right up my alley. I'm sure R would love this one too!

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  24. What a delicious sounding salad! I'd love to try this.

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  25. Wow! Your photo is beautiful. This was a good recipe and so adaptable.

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  26. Lovely salad. Happy Easter.

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  27. Everyone's versions of this recipe look so different! I love it!

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  28. Ina's one of my favorites too. Your salad looks lovely.

    Happy Easter.

    Lori Lynn

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  29. Have a nice Easter Monday!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  30. Jeffrey is one lucky guy, that's for sure. I've made this salad a couple of times and it's really good. I too cut back on the amount of salt Ina uses. Great photo.
    Sam

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  31. What a beautiful salad! Asparagus is grown walking distance from my house, and everyone around here devours lots of it this time of year. I love your salad that highlights each ingredient instead of hiding them. And, of course, any dressing with seasme oil, ginger, peanut butter, and seasme seeds is already a winner in my book!

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  32. That's also a healthy salad Val, all those ingredients got taste and they are good for ya.

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  33. Yum! Now all we need to enjoy it is a hint of summer over here in the Uk...

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Welcome to my home. Thank you for choosing to stay a while and for sharing our lives through food. I appreciate all your support, comments, suggestions, and daily encouragement.

Val

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