Asian Chicken Salad With Wasabi Dressing

Recipe by F&W's Melissa Rubel, from Pairing of The Day: November 2008, How to Cook with Spices. An excellent "new way" of preparing chicken salad. The delectable poached-chicken salad packed with Asian pear, cucumber and bean sprouts, offers a double hit of wasabi. Melissa whisks wasabi powder -- a blend of mayonnaise, rice vinegar and sesame oil -- then garnishes the salad with crunchy wasabi peas.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4  boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 3/4 pounds)
• 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise
• 1⁄4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 1⁄2 tablespoons wasabi powder
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons  sesame oil
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons water
•  kosher salt
•  fresh ground pepper
• 2  heads boston lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
• 1  large Asian pear, halved cored and thinly sliced
• 1⁄2 seedless cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced on the bias
• 2  scallions, white parts and green parts, thinly sliced
• 1  cup mung bean sprouts
• 1⁄2 cup  roasted  wasabi peas, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, cover the chicken breasts with water and bring to a gentle simmer; cook over moderately low heat until the chicken is white throughout, about 12 minutes.
2. Transfer the poached chicken breasts to a plate and let stand until cooled slightly, about 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the rice vinegar, wasabi powder, Asian sesame oil and 1 1/2 tablespoons of water and season with salt and pepper.
4. In a large serving bowl, toss the lettuce with the Asian pear slices, cucumber, scallions, bean sprouts and 2/3 cup of the wasabi dressing.
5. Slice the chicken breasts crosswise 1/4 inch thick and lay the slices on top of the salad.
6. Spoon the remaining wasabi dressing over the chicken breasts, sprinkle with the chopped wasabi peas and.
7. Serve at once.