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Sesame Chicken Cucumber Noodle Salad

This sesame chicken and noodle salad couldn’t be simpler to make. It’s a refreshing dish to serve on a hot summer’s night or bring it to your warm-weather potluck: just toss the salad with the dressing when you’re ready to serve.

Course: Main Course, Salad

Keyword: chicken, cucumber, noodle

Servings:

Author: EatingWell July/August 2012

Ingredients

8 ounces Chinese egg noodles or other thin noodles or pasta fresh or dried
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
1 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro optional
2 tablespoons naturally brewed reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon Asian chile sauce such as sambal oelek or Sriracha
2 heads baby romaine or 1 head regular romaine lettuce
1 1/2 lbs. cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch slices and chilled
2 medium red bell peppers cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 large English cucumber peeled, seeded, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch slices
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish see Notes

Instructions

Fill a large bowl with water and add ice cubes. Cook noodles in boiling water until just tender, 2 to 4 minutes if fresh, about 6 minutes for dry (or according to package directions).
Drain and transfer the noodles to the ice water. When the noodles are cold, drain well and transfer to a very large bowl. Set aside.
Meanwhile, whisk peanut butter, vinegar, sesame oil and Shaoxing (or sherry) in a bowl until smooth. Add scallions, cilantro, if using, soy sauce and hot sauce, and stir to blend.
If using baby romaine, half lengthwise, notch out the core, and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. If using regular romaine, remove the tougher outer leaves. Halve lengthwise, notch out the core, halve again, and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. You should have about 8 cups.
Add the lettuce, chicken, bell peppers and cucumber to the noodles. Add three-fourths of the dressing and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Add the remaining dressing if desired.
Transfer the salad to a serving bowl. Serve garnished with sesame seeds.