Chopped Spicy Chicken Salad
I try to be one of those people that branches out and orders something completely different each time, but, in this case, at this restaurant (and the aforementioned), I can’t bear to get anything different, afraid I’ll be severely disappointed if I try anything else. So I order it over and over and over again. And I’m happy over and over and over again. Why mess with a good thing?
The actual salad part is pretty straightforward, just some mixed greens with chopped red pepper, peanuts and some cilantro. But it’s also chock-full of freshly grilled chicken, then covered in a honey lime vinaigrette and drizzled with the most delicious peanut sauce. THIS is the peanut sauce of all peanut sauces, I spoke about it here, and tried my hand at recreating it after a waiter kindly gave me the ingredient list on the sly, and that I immediately lost. All I could go off were the two ingredients I remember being on the list, LOTS of red pepper flakes and honey.
While my version of the peanut sauce isn’t an exact replica, it’s pretty darn close, and I’m constantly tweaking it to try and get it as close to perfection as possible, but for now, I’m very happy with the results.
Enjoy and have a lovely weekend!
INGREDIENTS
3 small chicken breasts
(Optional blackening seasoning)
1 cup chopped red pepper
1 cup chopped jicama
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded purple cabbage
½ cup chopped water chestnuts
1 cup chopped baby corn
½ cup shopped peanuts
½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup Peanut Dressing
Honey Lime:
Juice from 2 limes
2 teaspoons honey
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat a grill or grill pan to a medium high. Sprinkle chicken with plenty of salt and pepper or blackening seasoning if using. Grill chicken until cooked through. Cut into bite-sized pieces.
2. In a small bowl, whisk lime juice, honey and salt. Slowly whisk in olive oil.
3. Toss lettuce with vegetables through baby corn.
4. Toss with honey lime vinaigrette.
5. Starting with just ½ cup of peanut sauce, drizzle over salad, toss. Add more if needed
6. Top with chopped peanuts, green onion and cilantro.
source:http://www.cookingforkeeps.com