Oh hi! Today we’re making an inspired dish I like to call Chinese chicken salad with orange sesame dressing.

Let’s make Chinese chicken salad with orange sesame dressing

Allow me to introduce you to the delicious details of this salad that has loads of shaved napa and red cabbages, carrot ribbons, shelled edamame, green onion and a handful of fresh cilantro. I also added some juicy chicken breast pieces to make it a complete meal, and if you’re interested, you can also toss in some ramen to make it extra delicious (noodles = delicious).

An amazing salad with an even more amazing dressing!

And a salad wouldn’t be complete without dressing and toppings. Let’s start with the dressing.  It’s rice wine vinegar, toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, lime zest and juice, fresh ginger, Sriracha AND a little somethin’ somethin’ extra to make it the best dressing in all of life.  That somethin’ is orange marmalade, you guys.  It takes this dressing and everything else you eat it with to the NEXT LEVEL. And the toppings are green onion, toasted cashews and sesame seeds. Talk about a crunch factor, you guys.

There is so much next level stuff going on right now in this salad.  All those veggies, the noodles, the dressing, the chicken AND all those toppings? It’s seriously legit.

How to make salads into a balanced meal

We’ve talked about this before, but I think it’s important to reiterate that salads can either be a fabulous side dish or can be a complete meal. There is no right or wrong way, people, it’s just truth.

If you want the salad to be a side dish or to go as a potluck dish, I’d stick to the recipe as-is. You could serve it up with grilled chicken thighs, legs or breasts smothered in BBQ sauce, grilled flank steak or salmon with chimichurri sauce, some grilled scallops or white fish with fruit salsa, burgers with fresh slices of heirloom tomatoes, grilled pork tenderloin with peach glaze, and the list goes on. I also have a stellar chili-infused grilled tofu recipe with fruit salsa in my MIND diet cookbook!

If you want to make it a complete meal, I suggest making sure you include the chicken and the noodles because then you’ll have some protein and carbohydrates to hold you over a bit longer. If you’re looking for some noodles that have a bit more fiber (I am always trying to get whole grains in, if possible), you could use a whole wheat spaghetti or brown rice noodles for this recipe. The fact that it has a ton of veggies lends itself well in the fiber department, but I think having some additional carbs in there is a good thing. Plus, the dressing gives it some heart-healthy fats that’ll also help keep you full and satisfied. Why not make your salad delicious AND satisfying?!

Other salad recipes I think you’ll adore:

• Green Bean Potato Salad
• Kale & Crispy Chickpea Caesar Salad
• Spinach Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette
• Carrot, Chickpea & Raisin Salad
• Greek Salad with Feta Vinaigrette
• Also, here are my best tips for making your own salad dressings!

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