Chinese Chicken Salad

You know, sometimes I just don’t have a story to go along with a recipe. I made this Chinese Chicken Salad last week and haven’t posted about it until now because I couldn’t think of what I should write. But you know what? I think this one mostly speaks for itself. It’s easy. It’s healthy. It’s colorful. It’s delicious. Nuff said.

I’m including the original recipe below, but this dish is easily adaptable. Use whatever nuts you like. I used walnuts, but I think cashews also would have been good. I used regular old green cabbage in place of napa because, for some reason, the former is half the price of the latter. I also served mine in (washed) cabbage leaves, just because it seemed like a good use for those outer leaves that I usually don't use. All the ingredients work wonderfully together, and the chicken, which is flavored very simply with a few brushes of soy sauce and sesame oil, is moist and tasty. The whole dish is fabulous, especially for summer.

OK, that’s it. Enjoy!

Chinese Chicken Salad
From Ellie Krieger

4 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, divided
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, divided
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 head napa cabbage, thinly shredded (about 6 cups)
1/4 head red cabbage, shredded (about 2 cups)
1 large carrot, shredded (about 2 cups)
3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced, greens included, about 1/2 cup
1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts
1 (11-ounce) can Mandarin oranges in water or juice (not syrup), drained
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce or chili sauce
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and brush onto chicken breasts.

Arrange in a baking dish and bake until juices run clear, about 15 to 20 minutes, or until thermometer inserted in thickest part of the meat reads 160 degrees F. Remove from oven, allow to cool completely, and then cut into bite-size chunks.

In a large bowl, combine napa cabbage, red cabbage, carrot, scallions, water chestnuts, Mandarin oranges, and sliced chicken. In a separate bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil, brown sugar, and chili sauce.* Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine. Divide among bowls and top each serving with 2 teaspoons toasted almonds.

*The dressing is good, but Adam and I both wished there was more. Consider doubling it.

Noodle Love VII: Whole Wheat Spaghetti

It’s not often that I make a pasta dish that contains neither cream nor cheese, but I’m trying to get better. I recently found an Ellie Krieger recipe for Aromatic Noodles with Lime-Peanut Sauce, and, in the interest of trying to eat better, I decided to give it a try.

This recipe had two strikes against it from the start: 1) I’m not the hugest peanut fan and 2) I have a personal bias against anything “whole wheat,” and the recipe called for whole wheat spaghetti. I didn’t always have this bias, but we recently tried the new Papa John’s whole wheat pizza crust, and I was not a fan. Adam liked it though, so maybe it’s just me.

Anyway, the point is that I wasn’t sure how this recipe would turn out. But you know what? It was delicious! I was actually surprised how much I liked it. I really liked the flavor of both the noodles and the sauce. And it’s so healthy! Whole wheat pasta, lots of veggies, and a tasty peanut-butter-based sauce that I’m sure is better for me than the cream-based sauces I usually make.

Did I mention that Adam has been nagging me to lay off the heavy cream? Yeah, he has. It’s going to be rough, but this pasta dish is a good start.

I’m submitting this dish to next week’s Presto Pasta Nights, which will be hosted by Hillary of Chew on That. Be sure to stop by for the roundup on June 27, and visit Ruth of Once Upon a Feast for past roundups.

Aromatic Noodles with Lime-Peanut Sauce
From Ellie Krieger

3/4 pound whole-wheat spaghetti
2 cups (about 9 ounces) broccoli florets
2 cups (about 6 ounces) snow peas, trimmed
2 cups (about 6 ounces) sugar snap peas, trimmed
1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 scallion, cut into pieces
3/4 inch fresh ginger, finely grated
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup shelled unsalted peanuts

Cook the pasta in a large pot of water according to the directions on the package. Drain and rinse with cold water. While the pasta is cooking, put the broccoli in a steamer basket over a large pot of boiling water and steam it for 3 minutes. Add the snow peas and sugar snap peas and steam for 2 minutes more.

Toast the peanuts in a dry pan over a medium heat until they become fragrant, about 3 minutes. Set them aside to cool. Make the sauce by pureeing the peanut butter, soy sauce, water, vinegar, lime juice, scallion, ginger, sugar, and red pepper flakes in a food processor or blender until smooth.

Right before serving, toss the pasta with 3/4 cup of the peanut sauce. Divide into 6 serving bowls and top each serving with the vegetables. Drizzle the remaining sauce over the vegetables. Coarsely chop the peanuts, sprinkle them on top, and serve.

Baked Falafel Pitas

I never had falafel before yesterday. I wasn’t even sure what it was. Just in case I’m not the last person on the planet who didn’t already know this, falafel refers to a deep-fried cake or patty that’s made of spiced fava beans or chickpeas. Anyway, I saw Ellie Krieger make a baked version recently, and it looked so good and easy that I had to try it.

You just take some chickpeas, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, parsley, cilantro, and olive oil and mash them all together or pulse them in the food processor, and then you form the mixture into little balls and bake them in the oven for 40 minutes. I left out the cilantro because Adam doesn’t like it, and, as I was making the falafel balls, I rolled them in some breadcrumbs, just a little, to help them adhere. The breadcrumb step may not have been necessary, but some reviews of this recipe said that the falafel balls fall apart, so I was taking an extra precaution. Mine held together nicely and developed a golden outer crust.

Since I’ve never had falafel before I can’t compare these to the traditional deep-fried version, but I still say they were pretty good. The recipe calls for them to be served with tahini sauce, which is what I did, but I think next time I’ll make a nice tzatziki to go with them. This time around I only had half a cucumber in the fridge, and I chopped it up and stuffed it in the pitas.

Baked Falafel Pitas
Adapted from Ellie Krieger’s Baked Felafel Sandwiches

Falafel:
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup parsley leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
Breadcrumbs, for forming balls (optional)

Tahini Sauce:
1/2 cup pure tahini paste
3 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice
3 to 4 tablespoons water, plus more if necessary

Salad:
1 cup shredded romaine lettuce
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 medium cucumber, seeded, peeled and chopped

4 pita pockets, sliced open

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Combine all falafel ingredients except 1 tablespoon olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Process for 10 seconds. Stop motor and scrape down sides of bowl, then pulse for another 10 seconds, until all ingredients are well incorporated but mixture is still slightly coarse and grainy. Form mixture into 16 falafel balls, adding breadcrumbs sparingly if necessary, and brush with remaining tablespoon olive oil. Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 20 minutes; flip falafel balls and bake an additional 20 minutes or until falafel balls are crisp and browned.

Combine tahini, lemon juice, and water and stir to incorporate, adding more water to achieve desired consistency. Reserve.

Toss together lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers in a bowl. Warm pita breads for 5 minutes in oven. Fill each pita with 3/4 cup salad, 4 falafel balls, and 1/4 cup tahini sauce.