Chinese Chicken Salad

I thought about writing some sort of “pros and cons of B-field” post, but honestly, I don’t know the town well enough yet. My list thus far:

Pro: We’re getting used to global warming way before our pals back in the Pacific Northwest.
Con: By the time they experience global warming, we’ll look like Raisinettes.

Pro: Thanks to the heat, women show a lot more skin here in B-field.
Con: Thanks to the heat, women show a lot more skin here in B-field.

Yeah, that’s all I have. That and Chinese chicken salad. This stuff . . .

Or is it this version?

More below the cut.

I think there are as many Chinese chicken salad variations as there are cooks who make the stuff. Most of the time, I keep my CCS close to the kind I first encountered (Erin Ujita’s method — remember, Sis?), which is to say: lettuce, green onion, cilantro, shredded chicken (boiled chicken breast), rice stick, sesame dressing.

In this post, I’m going to tell you how to make the basic version, but I’ll also give you an idea of the different interpretations I’ve encountered. There are undoubtedly more, so if you think of something, please do chime in.

Here’s the basic idea: combine greens, other vegies, poultry, something crunchy, and a sweet/sour sesame dressing.

THE GREENS: Shredded iceberg lettuce is standard, but I prefer torn romaine. Some folks add shredded red cabbage. Nice for color, meh for flavor.

OTHER VEGIES: julienned if possible. Green onion is standard, cilantro is damn close to being standard, and other possible additions are shredded carrots, radishes (red radishes or daikon), sugar peas, water chestnuts.

POULTRY: chicken breast boiled and shredded is standard. Lately, I’ve seen restaurants slice up fried chicken; I’m undecided on this, but most of the time I think the dish lacks the lightness a good CCS ought to have. If you have roasted chicken leftovers, these are great, especially if you know how to roast a chicken properly. Needless to say, if you like duck, duck meat makes a great substitute, too.

It occurs to me that shrimp, done up in a flavorful boil and sliced in half the long way, would make a yummy salad indeed.

CRUNCHIES: rice stick (sai fun or mai fun, deep fried) is standard but messy. Kind of bitch to work with but I usually do it anyway — I prefer it to the alternative. Won tons cut into long strips and deep fried are a common variant. TO BE AVOIDED: those horrible noodle-shaped things they sell in grocery stores. I think they call them chow mein noodles, but God only knows what they really are. Worms, I suspect. AWESOME ALTERNATIVE: duck skin cracklings. SOME PEOPLE: like sliced, toasted almonds. They tend to be the same people who add canned Mandarin orange wedges to their CCS. FEH.

DRESSING: Here’s what I do.

1. Carefully toast a heaping tablespoonful (or more) of sesame seeds in a frying pan over moderate heat. Transfer to a bowl.

2. Add a heaping tablespoonful of brown sugar, several grinds of black pepper, about 1/4 cup of dark sesame oil, 1/2 cup of rice vinegar, one or two tablespoons of soy sauce, and some Dijon mustard, just enough to help with the emulsion when you mix well. Taste it, see what you think.

3. Alternatively, you can use Chinese yellow mustard instead of Dijon.

4. Some folks like ginger in their dressing. If you have a mild pickled ginger (like the kind used as an accompaniment to sushi), you can shred a little of this and add it to the salad. A little goes a long way.

Regarding Chinese yellow mustard: Ming’s in Palo Alto laces their salad with a lot of Chinese yellow mustard. They also use duck cracklings and roasted duck, so it’s a rich dish overall. I like the heavy-on-the-mustard approach, and it’s something you really ought to try at least once. It’s a very different interpretation of the dish.

A note on making easy boiled chicken breast: this is a variation on the Frugal Gourmet’s boiled chicken. Do you know that one? Use a big stock pot, fill it at least 1/2-way full of water, boil the water, add the chicken. The water stops boiling. Remove the chicken immediately. Bring the water to the boil again, and put the chicken back in. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and wait one hour. Yes, it really works.

I do the same with breast meat, only I can get away with a much smaller pot — a two quart pot, perhaps? I’m not sure. Same exact process, though, and it leaves you with a weak chicken stock you might find useful for other recipes.

ASSEMBLY:

1. Get the chicken rolling first, unless you’re using leftovers, of course.

2. While the chicken is sitting in boiling water, make your dressing and slice up all of your various vegies and lettuce.

3. Prepare the sai fun according to package instructions.

4. When the chicken is ready, shred it.

5. Layer: lettuce, other vegies, chicken, cilantro and green onion on top. Spoon the dressing liberally over the salad. Top with sai fun noodles or other crunchies.

Enjoy!

D.