Asian Chicken Salad

As it starts to get warmer here we start to crave lighter dishes. Yesterday was 77 F, a wonderful 14 degrees above normal so the perfect night for a pretty green chicken salad. The recipe we used to make this had you poach the chicken breasts with a few sprigs of cilantro & a whole green onion. I did this but really it added nothing no flavor or scent to the chicken so I'm going to just leave that step out. The dressing is very nice but very gingery so if you are not a ginger fan use a little less. I've also changed the dressing to add slightly more ponzu & less vegetable oil to make it a little more flavorful & a little less oily.

Asian Chicken Salad
adapted from Bon Appétit May '08

1 skinless boneless chicken breast (You could also use leftover roast chicken & skip the poaching step. Use about 1/2 lb)
1/4 fresh cilantro, chopped
1 green onion, sliced
4 ounces sugar snap peas
2 baby bok choy, thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 red jalapeno, thinly sliced (remove the seeds & ribs if you like it mild)
2 1/2 - 3 T ponzu
1 1/4 T seasoned rice vinegar
1 T vegetable oil
1/2 T fresh ginger, peeled & minced

Poach the chicken in simmering salted water until cooked, about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate & allow it to cool. Turn the same water up to high & add the snap peas. Let them cook for 1 minute & then drain them. Rinse the peas with cold water to cool them. Shred the cooled chicken into bite-sized pieces. Toss the chicken, peas, cilantro, boy choy, cucumber and jalapeno together.
In a small bowl whisk together the ponzu, rice vinegar, oil & ginger. Add the dressing to the salad & toss to coat. Season with salt & pepper.

We served this with some chow mein noodles on top for a little extra crunch.

Serves 2