Description
This Citrus Asian Chicken Salad is my take on the classic Chinese chicken salad with mandarins and crunchy fried noodles. And YES – we are making our own crunchy fried noodles because I can’t seem to find these in store (and because it’s actually quite simple!).
Ingredients
- 2 heads of romaine, chopped
- 4 ounces of rotini pasta, cooked according to the package instructions, then washed in cold water
- 2 oranges, segmented
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
- 1 lb shredded chicken (this can be from 2 breasts of a rotisserie chicken, or from my poached chicken method here)
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds, toasted
- 4 ounces of chinese wheat noodles
- 1/4 cup oil
For the dressing:
- Juice of 1 orange
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 teaspoon sambal olek
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/2” knob of ginger
- 1/3 cup of tahini
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water up to a boil. Cook the fusili pasta according to package directions, then drain and rinse in cool water for 2 minutes. Make sure the pasta is fully cooled so it does not continue cooking and turn mushy.
- While waiting for the pasta water to boil, prep the chicken. You can poach raw, seasoned chicken breasts in chicken broth for 12-15 minutes, or use already cooked chicken from a rotisserie chicken.
- Prepare the produce – segment the oranges, and cut the romaine, carrots (if you didn’t get the shredded kind), and scallions.
- Make the dressing by combining everything into a food processor. Blend until smooth, taste, and adjust with more water (depending on your tahini, you may need 1-2 more tablespoons of water), and salt, and store in a glass jar.
- Lastly, make the crunchy chow mein noodles. In a cast iron pan or heavy bottomed pan, add ¼ cup of neutral oil. Heat this until 350F, or until bubbles form around a wooden chopstick, then cut the chinese wheat noodles into the pan. If you want to have more control over this, you can pre-cut the noodles and then add this directly to the pan.
- Cook the noodles until they turn golden brown, about 2-3 minutes, then remove from the pan and add a pinch of kosher salt to the noodles. Repeat with the remaining noodles.
- Assemble the salad by adding 2 big handfuls of the romaine, carrots, pasta, chicken green onions, almonds, and crispy noodles to a bowl. Add a few tablespoons of the sesame ginger dressing, top with some green onions, and enjoy!
Equipment
Notes
Tip 1 – Use a food processor for the dressing. Although you could whisk everything by hand (you would also need to finely mince the ginger), a food processor is really helpful here to emulsify the tahini with the rest of the ingredients. If you want to try this without a food processor, try adding hot water to help breakdown the tahini.
Tip 2 – When making the crispy noodles, lower the heat once you add the noodles. You can heat the oil on medium high, but to prevent the noodles from turning brown too quickly, lower the heat once you begin to cook the noodles.
Tip 3 – Right before you toss the salad, you’ll likely need to remix the sesame ginger dressing. Once this dressing sits for a bit, it will begin to harden and thicken near the top. Just use a spoon to give it a mix and it should be spreadable and pourable again.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian