The weather here has been gorgeous. Spring is turning into Summer and I’m in the mood for a good salad. I have to admit – up until recently, I’ve never really been much of a fan of salads. In Asian cuisine, most vegetable dishes are cooked, so it took me a while to get used to eating raw veggies.
This Asian Chicken Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette is my current go-to salad. I love the Apple Cider Vinaigrette. Not only is it delicious and fresh; it’s also super healthy! It takes just seconds to put together and I usually have all of the ingredients in my kitchen at all times – apple cider vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and lemon juice.
Yup, I admit…the crispy noodles on the top is my favorite part of the salad 🙂 It is deep-fried rice vermicelli noodles
To make these crispy noodles, fill your wok or large pot with cooking oil (no non-stick surface). You’ll need enough oil to deep-fry the noodles…approx. 2 inches deep. The oil needs to be super hot. Test the oil with a wooden chopstick or the tip of a wooden spoon – it should be bubbling rapidly (see picture below).
This process is super quick so make sure you have everything prepared:
* Vermicelli noodles. You’re going to deep-fry the noodles dry. Do NOT pre-soak!
* Wooden/bamboo chopstick or wooden spoon for testing the oil.
* Skimmer for scooping out the noodles when ready.
* I also use a Spatula to help me get the noodles on to the skimmer, then on to the baking sheet. Skimmer in my left hand, spatula in my right hand.
* Baking sheet. Once the noodles are ready, I scoop them out right on to a baking sheet for them to cool.
Asian Chicken Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- Cooking oil
- 1 cup rice vermicelli noodles dry, uncooked
- 2 romaine lettuce hearts chopped into small bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 1/2 cups grilled chicken sliced
- 1 carrot julienned
- 1/2 red onion sliced thinly
- 1/4 cup cilantro roughly chopped
- 3 Tbsp chopped scallions
Instructions
- Mix apple cider vinegar, sugar, sesame oil and lemon juice. Set vinaigrette aside.
- Prepare the crispy noodles: Heat up cooking oil in wok or large pot (fill to about 2 inches of cooking oil).
- Make sure the oil is hot enough (test with wooden chopstick or wooden spoon).
- Deep fry dry vermicelli noodles. Just takes a few seconds for it to puff up. Retrieve with strainer. Set aside.
- Toss romaine lettuce in vinaigrette. Add sesame seeds.
- Assemble the salad. Add grilled chicken, carrot, red onion and cilantro.
- Top with crispy noodles and scallions (add these at the very last minute; right before serving).
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
