Is this really Chinese? I mean besides the soy sauce & sesame oil? Whatever...I fall for almost anything with sesame oil. Generously adapted from a Food & Wine recipe. The original recipe calls for the meat from a 2.5 pound rotisserie chicken, which would certainly be good. But I often buy several chicken breasts at once and then just quickly roast them. As long as you're careful to take them out just when they're cooked through--and not cooked to death--they are still quite juicy.
2 chicken breasts
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar (or more, to taste)
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon sriracha, or other hot sauce (again, to taste)
1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 head cabbage, thinly sliced (I used Savoy--use whatever you like)
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2-3 carrots, julienned (or shredded, I suppose)
3/4 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (or more) roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
Sprinkle chicken breasts liberally with salt & pepper. Bake at 400 degrees until just done, 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
Mix next 7 ingredients for dressing. Adjust seasonings--it will need to be strong to cover all the salad! Dice or shred chicken and add to the vegetables and peanuts. Pour over half the dressing and toss. Add more dressing until salad is coated to your liking. Serve on lettuce or as is. I often end up just eating it right out of the bowl!
