Asian Chicken Noodle Salad

Welp, I did it.  I made a delicious Asian chicken salad....and all my pictures came out blurry.  Isn't that just the way of things?  I chose not to blog yesterday because I felt embarrassed by my lack of skill with a camera.  And I can't have a blog without pictures!  But today, I just said "screw it" and I'm going to post these blurry pictures because I want you all to make this delicious, delicious salad.  It is awesome.  No, really.  My husband said it was the best "deli-style chicken salad he's had," so if that isn't the best compliment, then I don't know what is. Haha.  But in all seriousness, I have been wanting to make a Asian noodle salad like this because, when I go to the grocery hungry (something I should never, ever do), I tend to buy Asian noodle salad as a snack.  New Seasons makes a really good noodle salad.  It has never occurred to me, until recently, after my third trip to the grocery (and the third noodle salad), that I could, indeed, just make this for myself!  And for less money, which is one of my major goals when shopping.  And it is true!  I made a huge bowl of noodle salad for only a couple bucks.  It lasted us two full days and was even more satisfying and fresh than the store bought kind.  I no longer have to long after great Asian noodle salad, because now I have a really great recipe that I can pull out at any time!  Also, this salad is good both warm and cold, so it's versatile for either lunch or dinner. :)

Spicy Asian Noodles with Chicken: 
Makes 4 servings
From Cooking Light

1 TB dark sesame oil, divided
1 TB grated peeled fresh ginger
2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 TB low sodium soy sauce
2 TB rice vinegar
2 TB hoisin sauce
2 tsp sambal oelek (fresh ground chile paste)
1 package thin rice sticks (rice flour noodles)
2 TB chopped dry-roasted peanuts

1. Heat 2 tsp oil in a small skillet over medium high heat.  Add ginger and garlic to pan; cook 45 seconds, stirring constantly.  Place in a large bowl.  Stir in remaining 1 tsp oil, chicken, and next 6 ingredients.
2.  Cook noodles according to package directions.  Drain and rinse under cold water; drain.  Cut noodles into smaller pieces.  Add noodles to bowl; toss well to coat.  Sprinkle with peanuts.


My Version:

I had every intention of making this recipe exactly as the recipe intended, however, as I looked it over, I saw that it required hoisin sauce.  "What is hoisin sauce?" I thought.  I regretfully did not take Asian Cuisine in school, so I was not familiar with this ingredient.  In the Asian isle of the grocery, I found a small bottle of it, and examined the ingredients. In contained soy sauce, molasses, garlic, ginger, chiles...things that I already had at home.  I usually do not like to buy pre-made items, especially if I know that I can make it myself.  So, I made my own sauce this time.

The Experimental Alchemist's Asian Chicken Noodle Salad: 
Makes 6 servings

1 package round Udon noodles
1 cup green onion, small dice
1 cup cilantro, rough chop
2 cups green cabbage, shredded
2 chicken breasts, skinless
1 cup mushrooms sliced
olive oil as needed
salt to taste
Spicy Asian Sauce (see recipe below)

This is my mandolin...my favorite kitchen tool.  This one in particular is made in Japan and has several different blades for straight cuts, batonnet, and julienne.  It shreds cabbage better than I could ever do with a knife...and quicker!  If you don't haven one of these, I would recommend looking into getting one.  It cuts veggies like nothing else! 

1. Preheat oven to 400F. In a roasting pan or casserole dish, add mushrooms and chicken.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, olive oil, and a little water.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Set aside to cool.  When cooled, slice chicken or cut it into bite sized pieces.
2.  Add noodles to boiling, salted water and cook until tender (about 8 minutes).  Drain noodles and rinse thoroughly under cold water until chilled.  
3. In a large bowl add green onion, cilantro, cabbage, sliced chicken, mushrooms, and noodles.  Mix well.  Add sauce and toss until coated.  Serve warm or cold.

Spicy Asian Sauce:
 Makes about 1 to 1/2 cups

1/4 cup peanut butter
2 TB sriracha (Asian hot sauce)
3 TB Bragg's Liquid Aminos (a very good soy sauce alternative!) or soy sauce
2-3 TB rice vinegar (get the full sugar/sodium kind...since you don't use much anyway)
2 tsp molasses
1 TB peeled fresh ginger, fine mince
1 TB garlic, fine mince

Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix until incorporated.  Can be refrigerated until ready to use.

This is a microplane...my other favorite kitchen tool.  It is perfect for getting a very fine mince from ginger and garlic, but it is also perfect for grating citrus rind!

What I would change: 

The major thing about my recipe that I would change is adding in more veggies.  As a dinner entree, I felt that this needed some bulking up...maybe with some julienned bell pepper, diced zucchini, broccoli, or snow peas.


Ultimately, though, I hope that this shows you that you can make whatever kind of salad you want with a few simple ingredients.  You can follow either recipe completely, or branch out when needed.  No matter, what, you should come out with something really tasty! :)