Chinese chicken salad over mixed greens

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You are in for a treat today!!  I’m not bragging…I’m really not, but this is seriously Good Eats!  One of my closest friends served this to me a few years ago.  Well it feels like a few years ago, but really our middle daughters were just babies at the time…so I guess it’s been closer to 7 years ago…time sure does fly.  And at the time, we never thought we’d be adding to our respective families down the road…funny that we now each have a third child, and they are already toddlers moving fast into preschool age!

I’ve made this recipe several times without changing it up much, which is surprising for me.  I usually tweak the dressing a bit to my taste and switch out the sugar and add honey instead, but overall it’s pretty much stayed the same.  But always in the back of my mind I knew I wanted to find a way to cut out the use of one of the main ingredients.  It’s processed…chicken flavored ramen noodles…and for some reason substituting that just seemed to stump me.  I still haven’t figured out how to switch out the noodles…so if you have any ideas let me know.  I’d want an option without white flour which makes it a bit harder.  But I think I managed to get the flavoring from the seasoning packet down by using chicken bullion instead…they have healthier choices in the type you can buy.  What else would work?  Any ideas?

Though I love it…for some reason (the cabbage) no one in my family eats it but me.  They really are missing out!!  And since it makes such a large bowl, near the end I started mixing it in with mixed greens.  Wow..was that ever a great idea! 

Chinese Chicken Salad

1 head cabbage, finely chopped
2 chicken breasts, finely chopped (cooked in olive oil with salt & pepper)
8 scallions sliced (I used a combination of red onion and Vidalia onion this time)
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds (original called for 1/2 cup)
*optional 1/2 cup slivered, toasted almonds (I didn’t have on hand, so I left out)

Mix everything in a bowl, and add about 3/4 of the prepared dressing (recipe below).  Mix well.  Add more dressing to taste, and keep remaining dressing on hand to add if you eat it with mixed greens.

Dressing

1/2 cup safflower oil
1/8 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil (or regular olive oil)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/8 cup good quality Modena balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup filtered water
1/2 cup honey
3 tsp chicken base or bullion
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Place all ingredients in a mason jar, screw lid on tightly and shake well to mix.  Place in fridge while making the rest of the salad.

This is a relatively quick meal to throw together…especially if you already have cooked chicken breast on hand. It’s very easy to chop up a head of cabbage quickly, and the dressing is a cinch to make.  I really like eating this for lunch throughout the week, and it’s also a great meal to serve your girlfriends while the kids play and eat their pb and j’s.  As with most of these types of salads, it tastes better the next day.  But by the third day I needed to perk it up a bit with the mixed greens.  Do you have any summer salads to share?  Or any similar to this one?  I’d love to hear!

**Don’t forget to use the “share” buttons below to share this recipe with your friends! There’s an easy button to share on Facebook. THANKS!! It makes my day. 🙂

This recipe linked up to Fabulous Food Friday.

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22 Responses to Chinese chicken salad over mixed greens

  1. Fresh Local and Best says:

    This is the perfect dish to serve in this sweltering heat, a cold refreshing chicken salad. It looks so good!

  2. Tickled Red says:

    Since it is so bloody hot here we usually serve salads all summer long as our entree'. I can't wait to try your chicken salad. It looks delish!

  3. Kat from California says:

    My mom makes this salad and I've made it too. I love it every time. You mentioned wanting something with out wheat, so I googled non wheat noodles and came across this website http://www.pavan.com/Poriental.asp In there they have different type of choices. I would think there should be some kind of soy noodles too.

  4. Laura in Paris says:

    I love salads in all seasons, but it is true that they are most welcome in summer when it is hot. Yours looks delicious!

  5. I Sicilian says:

    Nothing better than Asian, easy cool recipes for the hot summer months

  6. Lori says:

    I just love anything with an Asian twist. I definitely need to try this dressing. The whole salad sounds great!

  7. Val says:

    Yum, I love this salad and yours looks wonderful.

  8. Linda www.mykindofcooking.com says:

    This is a perfect summertime meal! Thanks for posting it!

  9. Linda www.mykindofcooking.com says:

    This is a perfect summertime meal! Thanks for posting it!

  10. My Little Space says:

    This salad sounds simply delicious! Light & refreshing too. Hope you're having a nice day.
    Blessings, Kristy

  11. Stella says:

    Hey Denise, I was just dropping by to say 'hi!', but wow-this looks so good! And I can tell by the recipe that it's 'good eats'. Toasted sesame oil makes everything delicious (smile). Plus your green look awesome with the chicken. Yummerz!

  12. Glo says:

    Hi Denise, it's Gloria! Thanks for the blog inspiration yesterday. I think I'll be up and running in a week or two 🙂

    This salad looks yummy. It's so great to see what others are creating with the amazing produce we get through Annie's!

  13. SMITH BITES says:

    I've made this salad and love it as much as you do – I don't have any suggestions for a swap out on the noodles other than to leave them out completely and replace them with something else crunchy – Celery, bean sprouts, water chestnuts? All of those would be terrific!

  14. Simply Life says:

    oh that salad looks perfect!

  15. Shyla says:

    Beautiful image and gorgeous salad! I will have to try this!

  16. MATHEW says:

    Hi,

    That is very consistent! You have been tweaking your recipe and still it taste good! I am kinda bit hungry staring at the picture that you have provided. Love those vegges very much. I'm gonna your recipe to my collection. Weekend is coming gonna try food. Thanks

    Regards
    organic food delivered

  17. Melissa says:

    Great stuff here. A happy holiday season to you and your readers!

  18. Sarah says:

    Hi Denise!

    This recipe looks delicious, so fresh and flavorful. You know I discovered your blog a little while back from a blog hop on another blog. I’m really enjoying the site!

    We actually have a blog hop live today over at RecipeLion Blog, it’s all about picnic and warm weather recipes. I’d love it if you could come by and share this one. I know our readers would enjoy it.

    You can find the hop here: http://www.recipelionblog.com/fabulous-food-fridays-may-blog-hop/

    Thanks, we’ll be back soon!

    Sarah @ RecipeLion
    Sarah recently posted..Marias Top 8 Creative Time Management Tips

    • Denise says:

      Thanks Sarah! I just hopped over and shared. I’m bookmarking your site for further link ups. 🙂 Thanks again for inviting me over!!

  19. Shelby says:

    Sounds like a great summertime meal! I often like to eat salads for supper when its hot 🙂
    Shelby recently posted..Caprese Panini

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