Sze-Chaun Spice Chicken Salad

One winter, years ago before children, Toki and I would meet one evening a week after work, have a drink at Harvest and then go off to (Jeanne Tahnk’s) The Chinese Cooking School. We would make a variety of dishes and then eat them for dinner. This is one of my favorites which I have made many times since....

Bring water to boil in a medium size saucepan. Just before it reaches the boiling point drop in

2-3 chicken breasts

Cook for about 10 minutes (don’t overcook) and then remove the chicken from the water and cool. Then tear/cut the chicken into bite-size pieces.

Meanwhile cook according to instructions on the package

½ package bean thread noodles

[OR if I don’t have bean thread noodles on hand I use 8 oz thin spaghetti or linguine]

Place the cooked noodles on a large platter and top with:

1 c bean sprouts [I use more]
1 c cucumber, shredded [I use more]

Place the chicken on the vegetables and top with the following SAUCE:

1 T chopped scallion [I use more]
½ T chopped ginger
½ T chopped garlic
2 T sesame seed paste
3 T soy sauce
1 T brown sugar
1 T sesame seed oil
1 T chili oil
2 t sugar

I omit the MSG that was in the original recipe. If you are increasing the amount of vegetables substantially, you may also want to increase the amount of the sauce. If I have fresh coriander (cilantro) on hand, I top the dish with:

1 T fresh coriander, coarsely chopped

VARIATION: Instead of the sauce above use Spicy Szechwan Peanut Sauce.

Reviewed 5/13/17