Classic Chinese Chicken Salad! With roasted sesame seeds and almonds and fried broad bean threads. Topped with dark sesame oil and rice vinegar dressing.
One of my favorite dishes at any Chinese restaurant is Chinese Chicken Salad. I especially love the puffy white threads that provide a slight crunch with every bite, don’t you?
Those threads? They are bean threads made from mung bean starch and potato starch. You can either soak them in water to add them to soups, or when you fry them they puff up into the crispy strips we associate with Chinese chicken salad.
Updated recipe and photos, first published in 2007
Chinese Chicken Salad
ingredients
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3 cups loosely packed, shredded, cooked white chicken (about 3/4 pound) (see Poaching Chicken)
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1/4 cup soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce for the gluten-free version)
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1 tablespoon sherry
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1 tablespoon of sugar
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About 1 cup canola oil or peanut oil
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2 ounces (1 bunch) bean threads
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4 spring onions, chopped lengthways
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1 large head of romaine lettuce (or 2 small heads), cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices
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2 tablespoons chopped toasted almonds
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2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- Dressing:
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2 tbsp sugar
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1 teaspoon of salt
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1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
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3 tbsp vegetable oil
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1 tbsp dark sesame oil
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3 tbsp rice vinegar (may contain apple cider vinegar)
method
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Shred, season and marinate the cooked chicken:
Shred the cooked chicken with two forks. (If you’re starting with raw chicken, see How to Poach Chicken).
Mix soy sauce, sherry and sugar in a bowl and add the chicken. Leave to soak for 10 minutes. Remove the chicken and pat dry with kitchen paper.
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Fry bean threads in hot oil:
In a small saucepan, add 3/4 inch cooking oil with a high smoke point (like canola oil or peanut oil). Heat over high heat until shimmering.
Take a bunch of the dried bean threads and gently chop them up a bit. Test the oil by putting a string of beans in the oil.
If the oil is hot enough, the string of beans will sizzle and puff up almost immediately. Then you know that the oil is hot enough.
When the oil is ready, work with a few strings of beans at a time and place them in the hot oil.
Once they’re puffed up, use tongs to carefully remove them and set them on paper towels to cool. The paper towel will help remove excess oil. Put aside.
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Fry the shredded chicken:
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil from the bean threads until hot.
Add the chicken and cook 2 to 3 minutes to sear in the spices. Put aside.
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Cut spring onions lengthways:
Cut the spring onions into 3 to 4 inch long pieces and chop lengthwise.
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Toast the chopped almonds and sesame seeds:
Toast the chopped almonds or chop your toasted almonds; toast your sesame seeds. (Heat a thin skillet over medium-high heat, stirring the seeds — or nuts, don’t both together — frequently until they begin to brown, remove from heat, continue to cook. Allow to cool to room temperature.)
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Make the dressing:
Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a jar – sugar, salt, pepper, vegetable oil, dark sesame oil, rice vinegar – cover with a lid and shake until emulsified.
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Surcharge:
Just before serving the salad, mix together all the salad ingredients – lettuce, chicken, string beans, almonds, sesame seeds, and dressing.
