I admit that I have only spent too few, short days in China. But, not once on my entire trip to China did I see any restaurant offering, or any person eating a Chinese Chicken Salad (CCS). I first encountered the CCH at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago restaurant in Las Vegas – and I was hooked. Following the recipe from one of his cookbooks, I used to recreate the dish I had, as the man himself intended. I’ve continued to prepare and eat this salad – but I don’t think I’ve even looked at his recipe in 10 years (I’m not even sure where the cookbook is!).
At first I felt … guilty. But I soon got over it, letting experimentati
on and what was in my fridge and pantry result in some pretty good salads. Last year I returned to the scene of the crime, thoughts of the perfect CCS still fresh in my mind, though it had been so many years since I had actually tasted it. You’ll never guess what I discovered – the salad at Spago’s had changed with time as well. It was still fantastic, but the vegetables were different, and the dressing wasn’t quite the same.
Last night, was CCS night. First I roasted a couple of chicken breasts – bone in, skin on. Sprinkled liberally with fresh cracked pepper and course salt – I roasted them in a convection oven at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes. Why don’t people roast chicken like this?? When I took it out of the oven, I was almost upset that I had put the salad together. The breasts were so juicy and tasted so good, I could have eaten them as-is for dinner. I never remember how good the chicken is when it’s cooked like this (until I do it for a salad). I need to remember. I need to roast it this simply for dinner more often.
But – onto the salad. I shredded a carrot, some suey choy (cabbage) and romaine lettuce; julienned half an English cucumber; sliced up some green onions and sugar-snap peas; segmented some plump oranges and toasted some slivered almonds. I let the chicken cool just enough to handle it and shredded it into bite-size pieces.
For the dressing – I really wish I measured the ingredients. I liked the end product. But, as per usual, I just threw a bit of this and a bit of that into a bowl until it tasted good. Fresh ginger and garlic, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, grainy dijon mustard, honey, vinegar and canola oil. Tangy, with a hint of sweetness from the honey and a salty note from the soy. Refreshing and filling. A great summer dinner salad.
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