No Guilt Chinese Chicken Salad

Submitted by Chef Ronald R.

"My wife and I love Wendy's Mandarin Salad. She is diabetic so I had to come up with some thing she could eat. This tastes just like my original with out all the sugar. It's great."

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 19
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup sugar-free apricot jam
• 8 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
• 4 tablespoons pineapple juice
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 7 tablespoons Splenda granular
• 2 tablespoons sugar twin brown sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon paprika
• 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon dark sesame seeds
• 4 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
• 1 (6 ounce) can chicken, cut in to bite size pieces
• 1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
• 4 mandarin orange segments, on each salad
• 1 cup dried chow mein noodles
• 1 cup roased sliced almonds

directions

1. Prepare dressing by combining all dressing ingredients except vegetable oil and sesame seeds. Blend on high speed.
2. While blending, SLOWLY add oil to mixture to create an emulsion.
3. After completing emulsion, Add sesame seeds and blend for just a couple of seconds.
4. Pour dressing into a covered container and chill.
5. Cut chicken in to bight size pieces.
6. Build each salad by first arranging about 4 cups of iceberg lettuce in the bottom of a large salad bowl or plate.
7. Sprinkle diced bite size pieces of chicken over the salad.
8. Arrange about 4 mandarin orange wedges on each salad. (you can eliminate to reduce more sugar content).
9. Add sesame dressing to each salad.
10. Sprinkle about ¼ cup dried chow mein noodles and ¼ cup roasted sliced almonds on top of each salad and serve.

Reviews

[Sydney Mike]

You kinda lost me in Steps 6 & 7 of the directions, since everywhere else essentially you're working on 4 individual salad plates! Nevertheless, I used a cup of lettuce on each of 4 salad plates, then added a half cup of cooked & cubed chicken breast (that I had in the freezer) to each plate! Then I continued with Step 8, & we had a very nice salad, particularly enjoying the combo of chicken, oranges & nuts. [Made & reviewed in Healthy Choices ABC tag]