Grilled Chinese Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing
I've never been a big salad-as-a-meal person, but over the past few months have been turning to grilled chicken and different salads when I'm in the mood to eat something on the lighter side.
Recently I made this Grilled Chicken over Southwestern Romaine Salad and really loved the chipotle dressing, and it got me looking for other similar recipes. The other night I was craving Asian flavors, so turned to this Chinese Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing recipe I first saw on Pinterest, and on the blog Foodie Crush.
I used the salad recipe as inspiration as I made several changes from what went in the salad, including how I cooked the chicken, adding a marinade to the chicken, and what was in the dressing (so pretty much every part of the recipe!). My adaptation is below.
Jon and I both really, really liked this one and will definitely be making it again soon.
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- For the marinade:
- 1/4 c olive oil
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tbsp hoison)
- 1 tsp or more Sriracha sauce for heat
- For the salad:
- 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 carrot, julienned
- Approximately 1/2 c fresh bean sprouts
- 1 c cooked pasta noodles, cooled - I used Wegman's nuggets; wagon wheels, crushed up ramen noodles, or rotini would also work.
- Handful of chow mein noodles (or any crunchy fried noodle, or fried wonton wrappers)
- For the dressing
- 1 1/2 tbsp light olive oil
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- Pinch or 2 of sugar
- 2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp sriracha sauce
- Few dashes each salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Mix the marinade ingredients and pour over the chicken; cover and let marinate in the fridge at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- Heat grill to 400 degrees. Grill chicken approximately 4-5 minutes per side, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Let rest and then slice.
- Mix the dressing ingredients and chill. Can be made several hours in advance.
- Toss lettuce, carrots, green onions, bean sprouts, and pasta with the dressing
- Top with chow mein noodles and sliced chicken.
