Chinese Chicken Salad

Submitted by: JOYCE PITTMAN

Her Food Story:

This recipe comes from a small spiral cookbook entitled Chinese Cooking: The Wong Way.  It was written years ago by Helen Wong, a neighbor when I lived in Pullman, WA with my husband, Von Pittman, and our son Dan. Helen Wong had married a man whose last name was ‘Way.’  Thus, the title of her cookbook.

At that time, our son was very young, and I made this salad several times every summer. Dan liked to stand on a stool beside the stove and watch me fry the rice noodles.  For children and adults alike, watching the noodles sizzle and expand in seconds is like witnessing a mini magic show. It is fun and easy.  Most of the salad can be made ahead. 

CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD

Serves:  3-4 as an entrée or side salad

Ingredients:

• For Salad:

  • 2 chicken breasts, poached, cooled, and shredded

  • 1 bunch of scallions (green onions), thinly sliced

  • 2 or 3 stalks of celery, thinly sliced

  • ½ of a seedless cucumber, thinly sliced (optional)

  • ½ head of Iceberg lettuce, or one head of Romaine lettuce, sliced or shredded

  • 2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds, as garnish on top of salad

  • Vegetable oil for frying

  • 3 ounces of Chinese rice noodles, ( “py mei fun”, rice sticks, or rice vermicelli noodles, available in Oriental section of grocery stores. (Example: A Taste of Thai brand)

  • 1 tomato cut into thin wedges or cherry tomato halves (optional for garnish)
    

• For Dressing:

  • ¼ cup vegetable oil 

  • 3 tablespoons sugar

  • 7 tablespoons Rice Wine vinegar, 4.3% acidity (Example: Marukan brand)

  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon Chinese 5 Spice (I use ½ teaspoon).   Available in grocery stores with common spices like cinnamon.

  • 2 teaspoons salt

  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon white pepper

  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

Directions for Salad Dressing:

Whisk the above ingredients in a bowl with the vegetable oil.  I like to make the dressing the day before and add the shredded chicken to marinate in the dressing overnight in the refrigerator.

Directions for Assembling the Salad:

Fry the noodles just before serving. But first, place the cut or shredded lettuce on a plate, add the sliced vegetables to the chicken in the dressing, and divide that on top of the lettuce on individual plates.

Then heat vegetable oil in a saucepan with high sides, because the mei fun noodles will puff up.

When the oil is hot, test the temperature by tossing in one small piece of the rice noodles, about 2 inches long, into the oil. If it puffs up immediately, it is hot enough. If it just seems to soak up the oil, then wait a minute or two and test it again.

Once it is hot enough (about 375 degrees), pinch off a small amount at a time of the rice noodles, because they will expand, add to the oil, and watch the magic happen. It will only take a few seconds.

Remove quickly with a slotted spoon, being careful not to let the noodles brown. Drain on paper towels.

Divide noodles on top of arranged salad just before serving. 

Garnish with the toasted slivered almonds, and tomato (optional).