In my small Alabama hometown, a restaurant lives and dies by its chicken salad recipe. Heaven help the one that decides not to include the Southern staple on its menu. For the local "ladies who lunch" crowd, it is practically a food group, and it should not to be taken lightly.
There are as many different ways to make chicken salad as there are cooks, but as for me, I seem to like them all. I don't know if I've ever made the same batch twice; I am always tinkering with ingredients to my liking. And while my favorite recipe always includes sliced almonds and grapes, I'm also quite fond of "Chinese" chicken salad—you know, the bastardized version found in American chain restaurants around the country. (How it gained that moniker I will never know).
I've been craving something a little lighter after last month's heavy fare; my body needed a break from all the rich and hearty holiday foods I (over)consumed. This cashew chicken salad offers the perfect breath of fresh January air. Not only is it incredibly easy to make, it's bright tastes and colors tease of warmer weather. I love the paring of flavors, from the nuttiness of the sesame oil, the crunch of the cashews, and the sweetness of the mandarin oranges. And don't skip the fried noodles. (They add the ultimate finishing touch.) Wrap it up in a tortilla or serve it in a bowl—it's delicious either way!
Cashew Chicken Salad Wraps
Makes 4 wraps3 cups shredded cooked chicken
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup roughly chopped cashews or peanuts
1/4 cup sliced green onions (white part only)
1/2 cup sliced mandarin oranges or clementines, divided
2-3 tablespoons finely chopped red cabbage
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Fried Lo Mein noodles, for serving
4 wraps or tortillas
In a large bowl, combine the chicken, mayonnaise, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and Dijon mustard until combined. Season generously with salt and pepper, to taste. Fold in the cashews, green onions, half of the mandarin oranges (the citrus will crush; you want this to happen), and the chopped red cabbage. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to marry. Taste and adjust ingredient amounts to personal preference. Spread a wrap with a dollop of chicken salad. Garnish with a few mandarin oranges and fried noodles and roll up, sealing with a toothpick if necessary.
(Note: This salad is equally good served in a large bow or as a regular sandwich; garnish with remaining mandarin oranges and fried noodles before serving.)
Related: Recipe: Chicken and Wild Rice Salad
(Images: Nealey Dozier)
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Comments (11)
This looks delicious! Do you have a calorie count for this?
What is the best way to cook chicken so that it shreds easily?
(Before someone suggest it, I can't buy pre-cooked chickens at the grocery store because they are not kosher.)
Melibean, I'd recommend poaching whole chicken pieces (breasts, thighs, etc) in gently simmering well-salted water for ~20 minutes or until it's cooked through. Then gently lift it out of the water, let it cool on a cutting board until it's cool enough to handle, and then shred with either two forks or just use your fingers.
I usually poach chicken for chicken salad: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-poach-ch-28367
You could probably also put the chicken in the slow cooker with some seasonings and a bit of liquid.
Melibean, I second Elizeh's thoughts about the slow cooker - my personal favorite kitchen device! Barring crazy-long work days, if you throw the chicken (along with some water/broth and spices) into the slow cooker as you leave for work, you'll have chicken just aching to be shredded when you come home! Throw in just a few pieces for this recipe, or maximize the impact by cooking up several pieces/a whole bird for various recipes. (Freezes beautifully!)
I got very excited by this - my small Alabama town has a coffee shop that has become my favorite site for Cashew Chicken Salad - but their version uses dried cranberries in place of the mandarin oranges.
Can't wait to sub these out!
ha - for me, post-holiday food is kale and brown rice, but I do love chicken salad, too. Actually, I love all the sandwich salads: tuna, egg, etc.
Melibean, for something like this, I'll often take the carcass of a home-roasted chicken (one that has already served for at least one meal) an toss it into my dutch oven (or short stock pot with a lid), cover it with water and leave it in the oven overnight at the lowest setting (170). By the morning, I have a nice chicken stock started, and the remaining meat is just falling off the bones. I carefully pick it off, and have more than enough for a chicken salad, curry or other "stretcher" meal!
Melibean, definitely poaching would be best. Or try roasting whole breasts in the oven with the skin on, then removing the skin. Ina Garten does this in all her cookbooks and it does keep the juices in. Word of warning though to everyone out there who might consider doing this for a luncheon or get together; please warn your guests if you put nuts in the recipe. Those of us who suffer (unusual) nut allergies aren't always warned before indulging and having EMS show up can put a damper on the "ladies who lunch" lunch! I say unusual because, although I can eat peanuts, I am highly allergic to cashews and macadamia nuts and these seem to be very popular in today's recipes.
This looks wonderful -- and would go great with a glass of sweet tea.
melibean, if you're cooking any kosher meats do NOT add extra salt! The brining process still leaves a lot of salt in the meat. Just gently poach the chicken, and adjust the salt at the end of the recipe.
Shabbat shalom!