Semi-Asian Slaw Salad & Chicken Kabobs

My Mom makes this super fab salad with a bag of broccoli slaw, Ramen noodles for crunch, and some kind of magical and mysterious dressing that is tangy, slightly salty, and sweet. It's a really good salad. Like eat-a-giant-bowl-of-it-in-front-of-the-TV-late-at-night good. It could almost take the place of popcorn, in that regard. But not quite.

For my dressing, I started with a sesame soy salad dressing. I also marinated the chicken for the kabobs in some of the same dressing. I used an all-natural one made by Olde Cape Cod, just because I couldn't stop myself from buying the bottle with the lighthouse on the label. And I regret nothing.

For the salad, I added a few other things to the dressing partially to thin it out, and to give it more of that tangy-sweet kick. You want the consistency to be quite thin so that it just barely coats all the slaw-ed veggies without being too heavy. I truly wish I'd had some sesame oil on hand, but since I didn't, I improvised. Just be sure to add each ingredient in small increments so you can get to exactly the flavor that you want.

Ingredients:

Dressing

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar

Sesame/Ginger/Soy type salad dressing (For marinating the chicken and as a base for the salad dressing)

Honey

Chili oil - Just a few drops

Soy sauce

Salad

Sesame seeds

Slivered almonds

1 green onion, sliced

Crumbled Ramen noodles

1 small can mandarin orange slices, drained

1 bag broccoli slaw veggies. (For an easy egg roll recipe using the same veggies, try this. You could even use leftover slaw salad!)

Chicken

2 chicken breasts, cut into pieces and marinated in sesame dressing

Directions

1. Stick chicken onto bamboo or steel skewers and cook in a grill pan or skillet over medium-low heat until cooked through. (You could also use a George Foreman Grill, too).

2. Whisk dressing ingredients together in a small bowl until you are happy with the flavor.

3. In a large bowl, combine veggies, mandarin oranges, and sesame seeds. Drizzle with dressing and combine until ingredients are just coated.

4. Plate the salad, then sprinkle with slivered almonds, Ramen noodles, and green onion. Serve with kabobs.

To the dressing, you could also add fresh ginger, hot sauce, or some garlic, if you're in the mood.

For us, this made three servings, which to me is just about perfect. We had a yummy dinner and Brady will have a yummy lunch tomorrow. When I'm home during the day I enjoy my lunchtime meal experiments, so this works out well for everybody. 

In other news, tomorrow is my birthday! I suppose I'm not mentioning this for any particular reason other than to say that we will be having dinner at my very favorite Philadelphia restaurant, The White Dog Cafe, which I am very excited about. We don't go there often (I think I've been four times or so) but each time has been a fantastic experience. I can't wait!

Quote of the Day: “Maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had, and what you've learned from them, and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.” ~ Anonymous