Wednesday, August 10, 2011

2nd best Chinese Chicken Salad

My Quay Lo told me that his daughter’s mum makes one of the best Chinese Chicken Salad that he has ever tasted.  I have yet to get the recipe from her. It aroused my curiosity of how a Quay Lo Chinese chicken salad taste like. So I googled the web and I found this recipe from Ellie Krieger. As usual, I made some modification and I am very happy with the result.  Wow! this salad is very refreshing and tasty and I assures you that this will please our Asian palette. However, I will still try to get the recipe from Darlene because I know it must taste better than this because when my Quay Lo speaks so highly of her salad, it MUST be TOP NOTCH! You know it is so true that when you had the best, you will not want the 2nd best.  Perhaps when we visit USA next and when we get together, we might request her to make this salad for us? This reminded me of our get together during our last visit. We had so much fun at the Japanese Restaurant. The food was SOOO delicious and all of us were SOOO stuffed. Fond memories are very precious! Got to do that again soon! 

For now, take a look at this 2nd best in my Quay Lo's book...

Chinese Chicken Salad
Largely adapted from Ellie Krieger at Food Network.com with modification



Ingredients:
4 tbs soya sauce, divided
2 tsp sesame oil, divided
2 tsp toasted sesame
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 head napa cabbage, thinly shredded (about 6 cups)
1/4 head red cabbage, shredded (about 2 cups)
1 large carrot, shredded (about 2 cups)
3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced, greens included (about 1/2 cup)
300g toasted chestnuts
4 oranges, sliced
1/3 C lemon juice
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced ginger
2 tbs sunflower oil
2 tbs brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp thai sweet chilli sauce
1/4 C toasted cashew nuts

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil. Brush onto chicken breasts and place into a baking dish. Bake for about 13 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting into 1/4-inch slices.

In a large bowl, combine Napa cabbage, red cabbage, carrot, scallions, toasted chestnuts, orange slices and sliced chicken. In a separate bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons soy sauce lemon juice, garlic, ginger, oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil, brown sugar and chili sauce. Pour dressing over salad and mix well. Top each serving with roasted cashew nuts.

29 comments:

  1. The chicken salad looks marvelous! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes. The images that you take to go with the recipes are so beautiful I want to stick a fork right through the monitor to get a bite. ;)

    The three of you look lovely. :)

    All the best,
    Lois

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  2. Your salad looks fantastic! I love Chinese Chicken Salads.

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  3. This chicken salad looks tasty! Can't wait to try it.

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  4. Hi Quay Po, I'm loving all the terrific flavors presented here in this Chinese Chicken Salad...bright, light and completely satisfying. It's always a treat to visit you, thanks for sharing the recipe!

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  5. light meals like these are the best! somehow I think glass noodles will go so well with this!

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  6. I used to eat Chinese Chicken Salad all the time but now that I don't eat chicken I don't really crave it anymore. But this looks divine! I bet my hubby would love this.

    What a cute photo of all 3 of you!

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  7. This is a chicken salad I would love. Great bold flavors at play. Awesome photos as well, very vibrant.

    Bravo!

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  8. Lovely picture as usual. Delicious looking salad, yum yum

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  9. This salad looks absolutely wonderful! I love the flavors!

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  10. Well all I can say Veron, is for being second best...it looks terrific...and if it tastes as good as it looks...it is sure to taste fantastic!

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  11. The Chicken salad looks like less vege more chicken meat hehe

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  12. din know we need to add brown sugar into the salad.

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  13. Stunning salad and pics, Veronica. I can't imagine any other chicken salad looking or tasting any better!!! I must save this for Marion. She doesn't care much for chicken salad with mayo:)

    Thank you so much for sharing...

    P.S. You three look so cute:)

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  14. I love Chinese chicken salad. If you don't mind my suggestion, you may want to take a look at this recipe from Ina Garten and ask your quay lo if that sounds right to him. I use Ina's recipe all the time and it is so good!

    http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chinese-chicken-salad-recipe/index.html

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  15. What an interesting salad, Veron! This is much better than muching chips in front of tv. LOL! Love those shots, esp the 3 beauties!

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  16. I dunno about second best. That salad looks like it will be pretty tough to beat! Fabulous photos!

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  17. hi, first of all must tell you that i really love all the pictures in this post, so colourful and beautiful salad you presented here..oh, of course also the photo of the 3 charlie angels there! Never thought this chinese chicken salad recipe comes from a real quay po! isnt that terrific? Special and yes, oriental!

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  18. Quay Po, the salad looks delicious, but mostly, I love how you hold family together... even with exes and steps... that is something to be very proud of. blessings ~ Tanna

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  19. great twist to the usual chicken salad... would love to try this
    jue

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  20. @Lois
    What you said about my photos of the salad is very encouraging. Your kind words make me want to improve in my photography. Many thanks.

    @Mary
    I notice a lot of Westerners like this salad including my Quay Lo. I think the taste of this salad must please the western palette.

    @yummychunklet
    This is a no brainer for you:D

    @Brooks
    Thanks. That's how I feel about your blog too.

    @daphne
    Good suggestion. I will definitely add some glass noodles the next time I make this salad.

    @Ameena
    Thanks. You should make this for Ali when he get grumpy hehe... cool him down.

    @mjskit
    I don' blame you, the flavors in this salad is wonderful.

    @Lazaro
    Thanks, I love the color of this salad too:D

    @Amelia, @Sonia
    Thanks:D

    @Lyndsey
    Very sweet of you to say that. Then, I don't mind this to remain the 2nd best.

    @Kian Fai
    I don't think so:D You might be mistaken the cashew nuts as chicken meat.

    @mNhL
    Yes, this is the only salad I made so far with brown sugar added.

    @Yummy bakes
    I have to say, it is.

    @louise
    Thanks and I hope Marion will like this.

    @That Girl
    So you must like this salad:D

    @Reese
    Thanks for the recommendation.

    @Shirley
    You are always so sweet:D Thanks for your compliment.

    @Parsley Sage
    Just because you said it, I can stop searching for the best, hehe. Many thanks for your kind words.

    @lena
    So you have given a new name to my Quay Lo? I will call him Charlie from now because of you hehe... Many thanks for always being so generous in giving your compliment.

    @Tanna
    I consider all the exes and steps as my family and I love them the same. Just like what I said in my quote, Family is the main ingredient in our life, without it, we will be under nourished:D I truly believe in that.

    @jue
    Welcome to my blog. Nice to meet you. Many thanks for taking time to leave your comment. Looking forward to share with you my cooking and baking adventures and disasters! hehe.. Have a nice weekend.

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  21. Quay Po that looks delicious - I must try to make it soon. I have an aversion to cooking in the hot summer.

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  22. Oh, this looks fabulous! I can't believe there is a better recipe out there...but I'll wait for your verdict :)

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  23. @thislittlpiggy
    Thanks for dropping by and love your comment. Let's visit often and share our joy in cooking and baking.

    @Lizzy
    Good to see you! Yes, when I get the "BEST" recipe, I will definitely share it with the owner's permission:D

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  24. I think your salad is the best..looks so colorful, fresh and delicious! Beautiful photos!!!

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  25. Beautiful and tasty. Looks great.

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  26. @Sandra
    Thanks . This salad is very colorful and quite a easy subject for photography:D

    @biarrose
    Thanks. It is so good to see you again. Just got back from checking out your post and LOVE your homemade granola cereals!

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