I always get a little pit in my stomach whenever one of those dramatic restaurant exposes comes up online or on the news. You know what I’m talking about. A picture of a beautiful green salad or light sandwich is shown, but then the announcer comes on with his dark and scary “mwahaha” voice and challenges, “Do you KNOW what you’re eating?” Dum..dum..DUM!!!!
Ok, by this point in life, I know that most of the healthier-seeming options in restaurants are often less than such. But every now and then I’m still blown away by the nutrition facts. And more often than not, big beautiful salads tend to win the awards for most fat and calories. I remember when I recently looked up the nutrition facts for one of my favorite Asian chicken salads from a large well-known restaurant chain, it scored in at a whopping 98 grams of fat. Nope, no typo there. 98, people!!!!
Gah. This is why I like salads made at home!
So for anyone else out there who might like Chinese chicken salads, today I’m happy to be sharing with you a Lighter Chinese Chicken Salad recipe. No fried chicken, crispy fried wontons or heavy peanut-y dressing here. Just lots of greens and veggies tossed with marinated chicken and almonds, topped with a yummy sesame ginger vinaigrette. Quick, easy, and full of flavor you can feel good about. Just the way I like it.
I vote we leave the number 98 for boy bands. ;)
Lighter Chinese Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients:
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- salt and pepper
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 head Romaine lettuce, shredded
- 4 cups shredded red cabbage
- 1 cup edamame
- 2/3 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup chow mein noodles
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
- sesame ginger vinaigrette (see ingrediente below)
Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
- 3 Tbsp. honey
- 2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
- 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tsp. sriracha chile sauce (optional)
- 1 tsp. sesame oil
- pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
To Make The Salad:
- Combine chicken breasts, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar in a large bowl or ziplock bag and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the marinade, and season both sides of each chicken breast with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for 4 minutes per side or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside. Remove and let rest for at least 5 minutes. Then cut into thin strips.
- In a large bowl, toss together Romaine, red cabbage, edamame, carrots, chicken, chow mein noodles and almonds until combined. Toss with your desired amount of vinaigrette. Serve immediately.
To Make The Vinaigrette:
- Whisk together all ingredients until combined. You can add more sriracha for an extra kick.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
This looks so pretty! Love the purple cabbage :) I’m going to make this for sure…I think it would be great to bring to a party :) Thanks for posting this!
Great Salad…….perfect.
I just made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious!! The dressing was spot-on. I used a whole small bag of edamame to increase the protein, since I made my portion vegetarian. Didn’t have chow mein noodles, so I crumbled some dry Top Ramen noodles instead and it added the perfect crunch. I served the dressing on the side, so the salad ingredients will stay fresh. I’m going to pack it up in tall Mason jars to take for lunch all week!
Such a bright and fresh salad, Ali. I remember in high school Chinese chicken salad was all the rage, everyone had to order it when we would go hit up the local food place and sit around with our backpacks in a booth, the unnecessarily heavy version, of course. I love how you remade it.
Hahaha. Your 98 degrees comment. :D
I love that you made over the super fat salad. I’m sure this is WAY better than from whatever restaurant people normally get them at. And so pretty! :)
This salad is absolutely gorgeous :) it looks so fresh and crunchy. I can just imagine how wonderful it must taste!
Yum! Can’t wait to try. Thanks :)
the colors. Beautiful!
I love how fresh and vibrant this is – and the dressing sounds awesome!
I’d much rather eat the homemade version anyway! Beautiful!