one of my favorites.  it’s fresh.  it’s filling.  best of all,  it’s easy.  it’s an Asian Chicken Salad…

Here’s where I start…  by prepping the chicken.  I usually do this step several hours ahead of making the salad.

I boil the chicken, to cook it.  I wait for it to cool and then dice it into bite size pieces.

Here’s my secret flavor weapon for this dish.  Let me start by saying that I’m very sorry if you’re grocer doesn’t carry this brand of dressing/marinade.  Now, print up this picture and take it to your grocer so that they know which one to order.  ; -)  You can thank me later… (wink)

So, I placed the diced chicken into a sealable plastic bag and  poured a good amount of the dressing/marinade into the bag … then it went into the refrigerator to get all nice and happy.  Every now and then I toss the bag so that the marinating chicken gets covered and smothered.

Then I diced up some green onions, cilantro (yes – you read that correctly … the cilantro is another secret flavor weapon for this salad – so refreshing!), half a head of cabbage and a head of romaine lettuce.

Since I usually make up enough for 2 or 3 meals I placed all the cabbage/lettuce into a container for later consumption…

And then I simply threw the green onions/cilantro on top…

 

And here’s the next secret flavor weapon… toasted almond slices…

 

I placed them in a warm saute pan (medium heat), and let them brown up SLOWLY.  They brown up fast, so keep a close eye on them.  I tossed them about the pan for about a minute or two, and then they were ready.  I removed them from the hot pan to allow them to cool …

And for an extra treat, IF I can find these… I like to throw a small handful of these soy ginger wonton strips on top of the salad.  They impart such great flavor…

So, here it goes… the assembly begins.  Below are the wonton strips, chow mein noodles, roasted/salted sunflower seeds and the toasted almond slices.

And the building process began…

Lettuce/cabbage and cilantro/green onions… topped with a healthy drizzle of the dressing (straight from the bottle) and a small amount of each of the crunchy toppings and about one chicken breast worth of the marinaded chicken.

 

 

Isn’t she pretty?! 

Dinner last night was so yummy!  I’m glad I made enough for more for tonight!