Chinese Chicken Salad

As I’m sitting here looking out my window at the rainy weather, I’m having a hard time believing what a beautiful day it was yesterday.

Les and I were invited to a wine tour and tasting at a local winery.  We have some lovely wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains, but I often forget about them, and think we need to travel to Napa or Sonoma for wine tasting and tours.

Our hosts, Beth and Scott rented a van for the ten of us who were going on the tour, so we could taste the wine without worrying about driving home on the winding roads.

We all brought a contribution for lunch, and we purchased wine and gourmet mustards from the winery to enjoy with our lunch. The weather was sunny and warm with a light breeze, and we spent most of the day laughing and enjoying our friends.

Lunch was delicious.  I am always amazed at the potlucks this group of friends puts together.  Everything always goes together beautifully.  For lunch, we had cheese, fruit and crackers, sandwiches and delicious desserts.  My contribution to lunch was a Chinese Chicken Salad.  I’m not sure the salad was a perfect match for the Pinot Noir, but no one complained. 

Chinese Chicken Salad
Adapted from Ellie Krieger Food Network
Printable Recipe

Dressing
1 cup rice wine vinegar
6 Tablespoons soy sauce (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
¼ cup canola oil
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
3 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sesame oil

½ head of green cabbage, thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
2 large carrots, shredded (about 2 cups)
¼ head of red cabbage, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
4 green onions, thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 cups cooked chicken, cut into chunks

I package ramen noodles, broken into small pieces

In a small bowl, whisk together the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, canola oil, brown sugar, sesame seeds, chili garlic sauce, garlic, ginger and sesame oil. 

In a large bowl mix together the green cabbage, carrots, red cabbage, onions cilantro and chicken.   Toss the chicken and vegetable mixture with the dressing (you might have a little extra dressing, so you might not want to put the dressing all on at once). Top with the crumbled ramen noodles, and serve immediately.