Mandarin Chicken Salad

I meant to post this recipe on Friday. Last Thursday I did a TBT cookbook review of the Stonyfield Farm Yogurt Cookbook from 1999. I was blogging the book and looking at the weather reports simultaneously.

A storm was coming. “We should leave for upstate and miss the mess,” my wife said. We left NYC for Olive, New York. There was no mess in the city. There was no power in Olive. We spent a day under a blanket in front of the fireplace. The roads were too icy to drive home, so we were stranded and used our gas stovetop to let us defrost and warmleftover poblano corn soup. When the power came on, the roads were still too messy to drive. We defrosted a chicken and roasted away.

Now we have leftover chicken. And we have this recipe to try. Yes, it will still taste like chicken, but sweetened with Mandarin oranges and dressed in yogurt plied with Asian flavors. If your own chicken salad recipe is bland, then try this very lovely recipe. Lots of ingredients and an abundance of flavor.

Yield: serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

For the Salad:

3 cups cubed or shredded cooked chicken
3 stalks celery, sliced diagonally
1 can (11 ounces) Mandarin oranges, well drained
½ cup drained and sliced water chestnuts
½ cup finely sliced scallions (white and green parts)
1 small red bell pepper cored, seeded, and minced
¼ cup sliced almonds

For the Dressing:

½ inch fresh ginger minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley.
2 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon white or rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
¼ cup vegetable oil
¾ teaspoon ground coriander
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

To Garnish:

Toasted sesame seeds

Preparation:

Mix all the salad ingredients in a large bowl. To make the dressing, in a blender (or with a wire whisk) mix the ginger, garlic, parsley, soy sauce tahini, lemon juice, sesame oil, yogurt, vinegar, sugar, vegetable oil, coriander, and salt and pepper. Drizzle it over the salad, and toss to coat everything evenly. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour, or up to 2 days, before serving.

Mandarin Chicken Salad