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Chinese Chicken Salad
Quick & Easy!
Tired of regular chicken salad? Here's a great way to kick it up a notch. Asian spices and flavorings pair up with pasta to create a nice variation of a traditional favorite.
TOTAL TIME: 15 minutes
NUMBER OF SERVINGS: 4
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INGREDIENTS:
8 ounces linguine
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3/4 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound cooked chicken breast, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
1 red bell pepper, slivered
2 scallions, sliced |
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DIRECTIONS:
1. Cook linguine according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, vinegar, oil, sugar, ginger, and salt in a cup. Toss with chicken, carrots, bell pepper, scallions, and pasta in a large serving bowl.
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Nutrition Per Serving:
Per serving: Calories 340, fat 7 g, saturated fat 1 g, cholesterol 65 mg, sodium 1,660 mg, carbohydrate 39 g, fiber 3 g, protein 31 g.
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Tips:
ABOUT CHICKEN
Nutritional power of chicken
Always an impressive dish, chicken (eaten without the skin) provides plenty of protein, little saturated fat, and good amounts of B vitamins and zinc.
Did you know?...
• A University of Minnesota study found that no significant fat is transferred from the skin to the meat when chicken is cooked. So when roasting, broiling, or grilling chicken (or game hens), it's okay to leave the skin on during cooking as long as you remove it before eating.
• A three-ounce portion of cooked skinless chicken breast supplies about half of your daily protein requirement.
• The fat in chicken is mostly monounsaturated, which some researchers believe lowers blood cholesterol.
• Chicken breast is a fairly good source of some minerals, including iron, potassium, and zinc.
At the market
• Whole chickens come in several sizes. Young, tender broiler-fryers range from 2 1/2 to 5 pounds. Roasters are larger -- from 3 1/2 to 6 pounds. Rock Cornish hens range from 3/4 to 2 pounds.
• Chicken breasts are sold whole or halved and in several forms: bone-in with skin, boneless with skin, and boneless, skinless. You can even buy skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size nuggets -- though at a premium price.
Look for
• Choose a whole chicken with a meaty breast. The skin color will depend on the chicken's breed and diet, and does not affect nutritional value.
• Chicken breasts should look plump and smell fresh.
Prep
• Rinse the chicken under cold running water. Remove any visible fat. To reduce the risk of food poisoning, wash utensils, work surface, and hands with hot, soapy water after preparing raw chicken.
• To pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts to a uniform thickness, place chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound gently with the flat side of a meat pounder or a small heavy skillet.
Basic cooking
• To avoid salmonella risk, cook a whole chicken until a thermometer inserted in the thigh (but not touching the bone) registers 180°F (the meat will be white and juices will run clear, not pink, when pierced with a fork).
• To preserve the juiciness of chicken breasts, cook them quickly (especially when broiling or baking), but long enough that the meat is fully tender and the juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a fork.
ABOUT PASTA
Nutritional power of pasta
Pasta is a low-fat protein source and the inspiration for countless quick, healthful meals. Most dried pastas are enriched with B vitamins and iron.
People used to think that pasta was fattening, but only the sauce can make it a high-fat dish. A cup of plain cooked pasta contains less than 1 gram of fat.
Did you know?...
The most nutritious pastas are made from semolina, a coarse flour ground from durum wheat. Durum is a hard grain that has a higher protein content than other types of wheat.
Look for
For the best texture, choose a brand of pasta made from pure semolina. This includes most imported and many domestic brands.
Basic cooking
Cook pasta in plenty of boiling water to keep it from sticking together. Add the pasta all at once, stir briefly, and return the water to a boil. Time the cooking from the second boil. Test the pasta for doneness a little sooner than the package directions recommend (overcooking ruins pasta), and drain immediately when it is firm-tender (al dente) to the bite.
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| From Eat Well, Stay Well |
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