Oriental Chicken Salad

 Oriental Chicken Salad

1 whole chicken

2 bay leaves

1 diced onion

1 carrot chopped

1 stick of celery

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Place all ingredients with enough water to cover the chicken and boil till done. Set aside to cool. Once cooled you are to take the skin, fat and bones off of the meat. Shred the meat. Place in a zip lock bag and chill. The chicken may be done ahead of time. The broth is actually chicken stock that is used in many other recipes. You may want to strain and save for later use.

1 package of wonton skins cut into strips and fried 

½ package Chinese noodles

1 bunch green onions thinly sliced

½ package fresh mushrooms washed and thinly sliced

1 head of iceberg lettuce shredded

In a really large bowl mix green onions, chicken, mushrooms, lettuce and Chinese noodles. Toss the salad with dressing. Top with the crisp wonton noodles.

Dressing:

½ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup light soy sauce

½ teaspoon fresh grated ginger

½ teaspoon ground garlic

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

¼ cup brown sugar (or to taste)

Toast sesame seeds in a heavy non-stick pan on the stove stirring constantly until it blooms. Mix all the ingredients in a bottle so you can shake it together before dressing the salad.

NOTE:

Peel the  brown skin off the ginger with the edge of a spoon.  A peeler seems to take a lot of skin off. My personal preference is to use a microplane to zest ginger or to grate fresh garlic. 

Toasting any dry spices or herbs for just a minute or two in a pan on the stove,wakes up the flavor.