Shanghai Chicken Salad

Salads are one thing we need to make more exciting in our house. Usually, I’ll throw together a salad with some type of green, cheese, nuts and a fruit. But after awhile, it gets a bit boring and I’m looking for new ideas. Well, I came across this recipe for Shanghai Chicken Salad and we were hooked! It’s a nice change of pace from our usual salad lineup that tastes pretty dang good…

This salad rivals similar ‘Chinese Chicken Salads’ commonly seen at restaurants. Napa cabbage takes center stage with a simple dressing made of rice vinegar, soy sauce (I used low sodium), hoisin sauce, toasted sesame oil, and grated fresh ginger. Shredded rotisserie chicken conveniently adds some protein too. For additional color, red and orange bell pepper strips are throw in, along with sliced scallions. To top it off with some added crunch, chow mein noodles are tossed in and/or used as a garnish. Simple and delicious… what’s not to love?

Look for rice vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, toasted sesame oil and chow mein noodles in the Asian aisle of your local grocery or supermarket store.

Shanghai Chicken Salad
recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated

1/2 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 rotisserie chicken, skin discarded & meat shredded into bite sized pieces
1/2 large head napa cabbage, shredded
1 large red bell pepper, seeded & sliced thin
1 orange red bell pepper, seeded & sliced thin
1 bunch scallions, sliced thin on bias
1 cup chow mein noodles

Whisk vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil and ginger together in a large bowl. Add shredded chicken, cabbage, bell peppers, and scallions and toss to combine. Sprinkle with (or toss in) chow mein noodles and serve.