Chinese No-Chicken Salad
From Vegetarian Salad for Dinner: Inventive Plant-Forward Meals by Jeanne Kelley © Rizzoli, 2023. Photographs copyright © The Ingalls.
The ever-popular Chinese chicken salad is not Chinese. Wolfgang Puck created it for his Chinois restaurant in Santa Monica in the ’70s. This is my veggie version. Deep-frying rice noodles makes them puffy, and they add delicious crunch to the salad.
This recipe, and others like it, can be found in the article “These Hearty Salads Are the Perfect One-Dish Dinner.”
How to Make It
1
For the dressing: Whisk together all the ingredients to blend in a small bowl. (The salad dressing can be prepared up to 2 days ahead; cover and refrigerate.)
2
For the salad: Combine the cabbage, mixed greens, tangerines, peas, edamame, celery, green onions, and cilantro in a very large bowl. (The salad can be prepared to this point up to 1 day ahead; cover and refrigerate.)
3
Heat 1 inch of peanut oil in a heavy medium skillet over high heat until almost smoking. Add one-quarter of the noodles to the hot oil and fry until the noodles puff, about 10 seconds. Using tongs, carefully turn the noodles in the pan over, if necessary, to fry on the other side. Transfer the fried noodles to a paper-towel-lined pan to drain. Repeat with the remaining noodles in three batches.
4
Add the noodles, almonds, and sesame seeds to the bowl with the salad. Whisk the dressing to blend and pour it over the salad. Toss the salad with the dressing to coat. Divide the salad among plates and sprinkle with additional sesame seeds. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and serve.
Ingredients
For the Dressing
¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce or tamari
⅓ cup peanut oil, untoasted (light) sesame oil, or other neutral oil
3 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp honey or agave nectar
2 tsp mustard powder
1 garlic clove, grated or pressed with a garlic press
½ tsp tangerine zest
For the Salad
6 cups napa cabbage (about 1 small head), cut crosswise into 1⁄4-inch-thick slices
6 cups mixed greens, such as tatsoi, mizuna, and baby bok choy
6 small tangerines, peeled and separated into sections, or 3 oranges, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
5 oz sugar snap or snow peas, thinly sliced on a diagonal (about 1 1/3 cups)
1 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
1 cup chopped celery
4 green onions, thinly sliced
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
peanut oil or other neutral oil, for frying
2 oz rice stick noodles (mai fun), broken into 2-to-3-inch pieces
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds, plus additional for sprinkling
cilantro sprigs
Directions
1
For the dressing: Whisk together all the ingredients to blend in a small bowl. (The salad dressing can be prepared up to 2 days ahead; cover and refrigerate.)
2
For the salad: Combine the cabbage, mixed greens, tangerines, peas, edamame, celery, green onions, and cilantro in a very large bowl. (The salad can be prepared to this point up to 1 day ahead; cover and refrigerate.)
3
Heat 1 inch of peanut oil in a heavy medium skillet over high heat until almost smoking. Add one-quarter of the noodles to the hot oil and fry until the noodles puff, about 10 seconds. Using tongs, carefully turn the noodles in the pan over, if necessary, to fry on the other side. Transfer the fried noodles to a paper-towel-lined pan to drain. Repeat with the remaining noodles in three batches.
4
Add the noodles, almonds, and sesame seeds to the bowl with the salad. Whisk the dressing to blend and pour it over the salad. Toss the salad with the dressing to coat. Divide the salad among plates and sprinkle with additional sesame seeds. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and serve.
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