Chopped Asian Chicken Salad with 'Peanut Dressing'
Servings: 2
Ingredients
For the Chopped Asian Chicken Salad:
- 4 cups romaine, chopped about 1 large head of romaine
- 1 cup matchstick carrots
- 1 cup red cabbage, diced small
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
- 10.7 oz mandarin oranges, canned and drained *Reserve 2 tbsp of the juice for the dressing
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 3/4 cup green onions, sliced thin on the diagonal about 4 green onions
- 1/2 tsp black sesame seeds
- 1/2 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
For the 'Peanut Dressing':
- 2 tbsp mandarin juice from the can *see notes if using fresh
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp creamy cashew butter or creamy nut butter of your choice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger powder
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- kosher salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the Chopped Asian Chicken Salad:
- In a large bowl, combine the romaine, carrots, red cabbage, slivered almonds, chicken, mandarins, cilantro, green onions, black sesame seeds and white sesame seeds. Set aside.
For the 'Peanut Dressing':
- In a food processor or blender, combine the mandarin juice, coconut aminos, fish sauce, cashew butter, garlic, rice vinegar, ginger powder, crushed red pepper flakes (if using) and toasted sesame oil. Blend until well-combined.
- Drizzle dressing over the salad and very gently toss to combine so that the mandarin oranges do not get smashed. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed to taste.
Notes
If you can't find canned mandarin oranges without junk added to it, you can use fresh. I would dissect 2 mandarin oranges and place the slices in the salad. Use a 3rd and juice 2 tbsp. of juice for the dressing.