Chinese Chicken Salad--Barefoot Bloggers

Note to self, change bowls! I just noticed that this is my third post in a row, using the same white bowl, which is my favorite for it's size and shape, but it is getting a bit old. I vow not to use it again for at least another few posts. Our first Barefoot Bloggers recipe for April, Chinese Chicken Salad was selected by McKenzie of Kenzie's Kitchen and it is, for Ina, a lighter, fairly healthy recipe, (although not exactly a low calorie / low fat / low sodium one with all the oil, peanut butter and salt in it). Chicken breast, asparagus and red pepper together in an Asian dressing, it just needed a few tweaks to make it a healthier choice. (My changes are in the Notes/Results section below). 

The recipe can be found in Barefoot Contessa Parties! (pg 98), as well as on the Food Network site here.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Barefoot Contessa Parties!, Ina Garten

(12 Servings)

4 split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on)
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound asparagus, ends removed, and cut in thirds diagonally
1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded
2 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted

For the dressing:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup good apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon peeled, grated fresh ginger
1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub with the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred the chicken in large bite-sized pieces.

Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. Cut the peppers in strips about the size of the asparagus pieces. Combine the cut chicken, asparagus, and peppers in a large bowl.

Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Add the scallions and sesame seeds and season to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Notes/Results: Light and delicious, a great little salad with good flavor. I reduced the amount to two servings worth, enough for a couple of lunches. Instead of a bone-in, skin-on chicken breast, I used an organic skinless, boneless breast, which worked fine and turned out nice and moist at about 30 minutes in the oven. I switched the vegetable oil to olive oil and cut down the amount by about 1/2. There seems to be a lot of salt in the dressing so I used a low-sodium soy salt and also reduced the amount of kosher salt to a tiny pinch. Finally I swapped out the peanut butter and replaced it with some (a bit less than the recipe called for), natural ground almond butter. In this case the switch was not really for any health reasons, almond butter is what I had on hand because I eat it more often than peanut butter. I think it is a great alternative though, as sometimes too much peanut butter can overwhelm a dressing and the almond butter gives a nice nuttiness without being overpowering. I felt like it made more of the sesame flavor come out. To make up for my swap outs, and still get a flavor punch, I added a bit more ginger, garlic and black pepper to my dressing mix. Although I cut the quantity of the dressing recipe down, it made more than I thought was needed so I didn't use all of it on the salad and it still had plenty of flavor. I tossed a bit of chopped fresh mint in at the end as I had a big bunch in the fridge and I like the complexity it adds. I would make this one again, lightened up of course.

Thanks McKenzie for a great pick and a welcome choice for spring! You can see what the other Barefoot Bloggers thought of this recipe by going to the BB site here.