This is a fairly filling salad which can be easily served as a main course meal.

The inspiration from it is Mel’s Kitchen Cafe blog, which I highly recommend for its diverse and delicious recipes.

Mel’s version, aside from considerably better photography, uses chow mein noodles, which I did not have. However, one can make chow mein even from spaghetti by frying them after boiling the pasta almost to completion.

I also used shredded rather than chopped chicken. I think using choped or at least larger pieces of shredded chicken would have helped.

As a note, don’t let a kid that’s determined to make this into a sandwich near it.
They will use the extra 3 cups of chicken you had other plans for to turn this salad into the other kind of chicken salad that you put in sandwiches.

Recipe

The recipe calls for 3 cups of shredded chicken and I think that strikes a good balance. However one could add a bit more if desired to make it more filling, or a bit more cabbage and lettuce to make it more airy.

Ingredients

• 3-4 cups shredded cabbage (can use coleslaw mix)
• 3-4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 2 cans (11-ounces each) mandarin oranges, drained
• 3 cups cooked, chopped chicken
• 3 green onions, chopped (red onions also look cool)

For dressing:

• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1-2 teaspoons chile-garlic sauce (can use Sambal Oelek if available)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Salt and pepper to taste

For topping:

• 1-2 cups chow mein noodles or toasted, chopped almonds (or both)

Preparation

1. Mix together all incredients for the dressing.
2. In a large bowl, toss the the salad ingredients.
3. Add the dressing and toss to combine.
4. Serve on a plate or in bowls topped with the chow mein noodles, or better a mix of chow mein and toasted chopped almonds.

Serving size: 1.5 cups, serves 6.

I think due to the sauce, which has a generous amount of oil, as well as the mandarins and chow mein, we’re looking at 400-600 calories per serving.