Chinese Chicken Salad

I love having a big entree salad for dinner, it just feels so clean and healthy.  I try to have a salad dinner several times a month and this salad was a wonderful addition to my line-up.  It has so many textures with the lettuce, cabbage, won ton skins, sugar snap peas, almonds, and chicken.  The dressing was light and the oranges added an extra burst of flavor in every bite.  This will be on permanent rotation in my house from now on.  I hope you try it too!

Ingredients (makes 4 entree salads)

For the salad:

1 large head romaine, chopped into bite sized pieces

1/2 head of cabbage, thinly sliced

1/2 pound sugar snap peas, sliced into 1 inch pieces

1/2 C cilantro, finely chopped

4 -5 C cooked chicken or Gardien Chick'n Scallopini, cut or torn into pieces

1/2 C scallions, thinly sliced

1/2 C sliced almonds

crispy fried won ton skins

toasted sesame seeds

8 mandarin oranges, peeled and separated

For the dressing

1/4 C soy sauce

1/4 C lemon juice

2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp white vinegar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

3 Tbsp peanut oil

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for the dressing.  Whisk thoroughly and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken and scallions.  Pour 1/3 C dressing in with the chicken and scallions.  Toss to combine.
3. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, cabbage, sugar snap peas, and cilantro.  Add dressing (whisking continuously to prevent separation).  Toss to evenly coat.  Add the chicken mixture and toss.  
4. Serve on individual plates and top with almonds, sesame seeds, won ton skins, and orange slices.    Enjoy!