Chinese | Chinese Chicken Salad

Updated on November 3, 2018

Another one from Gwyneth Paltrow. For a shortcut, you could buy roasted chicken. A new discovery for me was that you can buy Black Roasted Sesame Seeds in the Asian section of the supermarket.

Yield: 2 big servings

Ingredients

For the chicken:

4 coin-sized pieces fresh ginger, crushed with the side of your knife

2 garlic cloves, crushed with the side of your knife

6 scallions, 2 bruised with the side of your knife and the other 4 finely sliced

1/2 star anise

1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

2 chicken breasts on the bone, skin removed or use leftover roasted chicken

 

For the salad:

1 head of Little Gem lettuce (or 1 heart of romaine), core discarded, finefly shredded

1 head green endive, core discarded, finely shredded

1 head of red endive, core discarded, finely shredded (or just use another green endive)

a handful of snow peas, thinly sliced lengthwise

1 carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks

3 tablespoons cilantro, roughtly chopped

a big pinch of toasted black sesame seeds

Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing

 

Method

For the chicken:

Bring a few cups of water to a boil in a large wok or pot along with the ginger, the garlic, the 2 bruised scallions, the star anise, and the Chinese five-spice powder. Turn the heat down and let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes. Set up a steamer (bamboo or whatever you've got) above the fragrant mixture and steam the chicken breasts for 45 minutes. Set the chicken aside until it's cool enough to handle, then shred the meat with your fingers, discarding the bones.

For the salad:

Combine the shredded chicken with the 4 sliced scallions, lettuce, endive, snow peas, carrot, cilantro, and black sesame seeds and stir to combine with as much of the dressing as you like.

 

(Ref. "Chinese Chicken Salad" recipe, It's All Good, page 71.)