Ever since I received my Mustards Grill cookbook I've wanted to make their Chinese Chicken Salad recipe. I'm very fond of Asian style salads in general and often prepare Vietnamese Chicken Salad, which is quick and delicious. I could see that the Mustards Grill recipe was more involved than most salads, but it didn't discourage me from making it. Even though the recipe contained the warning, "this is a fairly complicated recipe, but keep in mind that a lot of it can be done ahead of time," I failed to recognize that they were waving a big red flag at me to proceed with caution. It wasn't a hard recipe by any means, but it required a great deal of busy work that could have been done at my leisure, days beforehand. Instead, I blithely launched into it in the late afternoon and soon realized that I was a very foolish woman in not heeding the nice warning. When I finally finished the salad, I was tired, annoyed at myself and faced a kitchen looking like a team of chimpanzees had a food fight in it.
Fortunately, the resulting salad was good enough to justify all the effort. And why so much effort? Well, there are separate dressings for everything in the salad, requiring a lot of chopping and measuring and grating, etc. The chicken needs to be poached and cooled in a complex broth before its shredded. You will need to assemble a variety of Asian ingredients--and make some substitutions, if necessary. The recipe calls for Lee Kum Kee fermented black beans with chili, a brand easy to find in grocery stores. However, finding the black beans with chili proved to be impossible. So, I used black bean sauce with garlic instead, and added some chili sauce. I've never seen the black vinegar called for in the recipe, so I substituted rice vinegar.
I will make this recipe again, but I'll follow the advice of the cookbook and prepare most of it the day before. Despite my experience, I highly recommend this salad, if a more leisurely approach is taken. May I add that the leftovers are fabulous the next day.
Chinese Chicken Salad with Sesame Noodles and Rice Vinegar Cucumbers
Rice Vinegar Cucumbers
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large carrot, julienne
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon peeled and grate ginger
1 Tablespoon minced fresh mint
2 scallions, white part only, minced
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
Chicken
1/4 cup Chinese rose' wine or 2 Tablespoons dry white wine
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup peeled and grated ginger root
3 pods star anise
2 teaspoons Szehuan pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 cups water
3 large bone-in, skin on chicken breasts
Tahini Dressing
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 or 2 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
2 Tablespoons sesame tahini or natural peanut butter
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Lee Kum Kee black bean chile sauce (or 1/4 teaspoon black bean sauce with garlic and 1/8 teaspoon chili sauce)
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
Cabbage Salad
3 cups arugula or mixed salad greens
3 to 4 cups shredded green cabbage
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
Vinaigrette
1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons minced shallot
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
pinch of salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
2 Tablespoons peanut oil
Sesame Noodles
1 pound spaghettini
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 Tablespoons black soy sauce
1 Tablespoon black vinegar (Or 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar.)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Lee Kum Kee black bean chile sauce
1/4 cup minced scallions
1/4 cup almonds or cashews, cupped roughly
3 scallions sliced on the diagonal
cilantro sprigs for garnish
Cucumber salad
Sprinkle cucumbers with salt, allow to sit for 20 minutes, then squeeze gently and drain. Combine the cucumbers, carrot, garlic, ginger, mint, and scallions in a bowl. Combine rice vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan and heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool. When cool, pour over the cucumber salad. This can be done up to 2 hours ahead of time.
The Chicken
Combine wine, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, cinnamon, orange zest, ginger root, star anise, Szechuan peppercorns, salt, and water in a large pot. Bring to a boil, add chicken, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 12 to15 minutes. The breast should be firm to the touch and the juices run clear or slightly pink, as the meat will continue to cook as it cools. Allow chicken to cool in the liquid, then skin, bone and tear the meat into bite sized pieces. Drizzles the meat with some of the poaching liquid, cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble the salad. Freeze the poaching liquid for another use.
Tahini Dressing
Combine the dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to assemble the salad.
Cabbage salad
Tear the arugula (if using it) into bite sized pieces and combine it (or the salad greens) with the cabbage and cilantro and refrigerate until needed.
Vinaigrette
Whisk together the rice vinegar, shallot, mustard, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, until salt dissolves. Gradually whisk in the oils until emulsified. Set aside.
Noodles
Cook spaghettini in boiling salted water according to package directions, until al dente. Drain and rinse until just warm. In a small bowl, combine the sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar black bean paste, and scallions, then toss this with the noodles. Set aside until ready to serve.
Assembling the Salad
Combine the cabbage salad with the rice vinegar cucumbers in a large bowl and toss with just enough of the cabbage salad vinaigrette to coat vegetables lightly. Place a mound of sesame noodles on a serving plate and surround with the cabbage salad. Top with the shredded chicken and drizzle with the tahini dressing and garnish with nuts, scallions and cilantro.
Oooohhhh, my! I am a big fan of sesame noodle salads and that looks fabulous. Just the kind of refreshing salad for a hot day. And you're making me WANT that cookbook.
Posted by: Julie | July 17, 2006 at 02:02 PM
i know meee too, everything from that cookbook looks so good! the dressing sounds awesome, and w/ cukes and sesame noodles. i could eat a big plate of this right about now! you are officially a woman after my own heart...
Posted by: aria | July 17, 2006 at 02:08 PM
oh my god sher!! this looks absolutely delectable! i've never been a fan of main courses but you make me wanna try this out immediately! and look at the chicken shreds...they must taste very very good! thx for sharing this recipe =)
Posted by: Evan | July 17, 2006 at 03:41 PM
What an undertaking! And in this heat. Brave, brave woman.
I'm having to get my cooking and blogging ya-ya's right now by reading you and Kalyn and so many other great food bloggers, because, whaaa!, I'm not in my kitchen. But I am in Sonoma at this moment, on a mountain top, in a pool overlooking the valley. So life ain't too bad.
Still, I can't wait to get home to the cool fog and start cooking again. Only a few days to go.
Posted by: christine | July 17, 2006 at 05:56 PM
That is incredible! I got tired just reading the directions. You really went to a lot of work but it's beautiful. If it tastes even half as good as it looks it must have been wonderful!
Posted by: Glenna | July 17, 2006 at 08:14 PM
Looks and sounds like the salad was worth all the effort you put into it, no matter how late you started. Thanks for stopping by my blog!
Paz
Posted by: Paz | July 17, 2006 at 08:29 PM
Holy cats, I'm surprised it didn't ask for you to grow the cabbage and make the nooodles yourself! Looks good though!
Posted by: Shannon | July 17, 2006 at 10:24 PM
Oh, noodles!!! Photos are great - nothing wrong with them at all - they're perfect! I'm drooling right now...
The list of ingredients certainly proved the labour of love involved. You triumphed in the end :)
Oh, and i too, love leftover noodles!
Posted by: Mae | July 18, 2006 at 01:33 AM
eep!
i would have given up as soon as they asked me to poach the chicken
i am soooooooooo lazy when it comes to cooking chicken
its a sickness ;-)
Posted by: ann | July 18, 2006 at 05:26 AM
Julie & Aria,
I do recommend the cookbook (obviously--since I make so many recipes from it). The pictures alone are worth it. There are still lots of recipes I want to try out!
Evan,
The chicken was very nice--the poaching method made it very silky and tender. And once the poaching liquid was prepared it was an easy process. It could easily be done in advance.
Christine,
You live in a very beautiful and cool place. Right now the temperatures are still very hot here in the Central Valley (will hit 106 today) so I'm not in the mood to cook at all!
Glenna & Paz,
Well, I'm glad I made it, even if I was a total bonehead in the way I did it! And right now, some nice cool noodles would be nice, eh?
Shannon,
I'm surprised it didn't say to go out and slaughter the chicken, pluck it, etc. Actually my grandmother actually did that when I was a kid. And she did it really fast. One minute you're playing with a chicken and a few hours later it's been fried up and served to you.
Mae,
Oh yes, I actually enjoyed the left over noodles more than the day before. I think they improved with age.
Ann,
Except for mixing all the ingredients and grating 1/4 cup ginger (have to get a better grater for that), the actual poaching was very simple. And short.
Posted by: sher | July 18, 2006 at 12:47 PM
Sher,
I admire your perservence in preparing this salad and I was also happy to see that it's from the Mustards Grill cookbook ... a book that I've consdired buying but haven't (yet).
You have an incredible blog! I'm so glad that you stopped by Cream Puffs in Venice to introduce yourself. I've added you to my bloglines account so that I can keep track of you.
Happy blogging!
Posted by: Ivonne | July 18, 2006 at 03:43 PM
Sher,
after I made a regular stir-fried dish, my kitchen already looked like being bombed; I totally understand how you felt that day! But heck, it looks GREAT! I normally don't care any salad, but your chicken does sound wonderful!
Posted by: gattina | July 18, 2006 at 05:53 PM
wow! lots of steps but it looks so worth it :D
I'm really going to have to track down that Szechuan pepper. How different is it from regular pepper? *trying to tuck back my ignorance inside my mouth*
Posted by: Nerissa | July 19, 2006 at 03:08 AM
Oy, I hate it when partway through preparing a dish I realize, I'm too tired! I don't want to do this! It's too much work! -- but it's too late to stop. I sympathize. And I want to try it. Yum. :)
Posted by: Lisa | July 19, 2006 at 08:33 AM
Even though the recipe sounds complicated, i am really tempted to try this one out after looking at the photo. Goooood!!!!
Posted by: archana | July 19, 2006 at 07:38 PM
Ivonne,
Thanks for stopping by--your blog is amazing. I do recommend the Mustards Grill cookbook. You should see the picture in it of their Lemon Meringue Pie.
Gattina,
I usually clean up after myself as I cook and have a pretty tidy kitchen--but that was not the case for this recipe. It looked like an explosion had gone off.
Nerissa,
Szechuan pepper is not really pepper, I've been told. But, it has a distinctive taste and is hot--to me at least. It's in a lot of Chinese recipes, so it's a good thing to have in the old spice collection.
Lisa,
LOL!! That's exactly what happened to me. I was half way through it, looked at the clock and thought, "Oh well, I'm in trouble here."
Archana,
Just give yourself enough time--or make some of it beforehand!!! Don't be like me. :)
Posted by: sher | July 20, 2006 at 12:21 AM
I do a sort of Asian chicken salad that employs a similar method. The first time I made, I couldn't believe how long all that chopping and mincing took!!
I've gotten to the point where I cheat with a pre-roasted chicken, and tend to skip the noodles entirely. It's still very good, but I'm going to give your version a whirl sometime soon.
Posted by: s'kat | July 20, 2006 at 07:22 AM
I stumbled upon this site as I was doing some online research. These recipes looks scrumptious, but I have to admit the length of the ingredient lists and the number of preparation steps are a bit daunting!
Posted by: panasianbiz | July 27, 2006 at 08:14 AM