This salad doesn’t need much of an introduction, or a long tale about how it came about being made in my kitchen. It’s been hot and muggy out this week, and cooking anything has been far from appealing. Unable to come up with any ideas for a cold supper, I spent some time trolling the ‘net, looking for a delicious sounding salad idea for supper- preferably one with no cooked components, as that oven was not going to be turned on.
Well, I found one, although it sort of had a cooked component in the form of toasted almonds. Those babies were worth turning on the burner for. This salad is delightfully crunchy and is 100% adaptable to what vegetables you have on hand. In addition to what’s listed, I also added sliced celery, cucumbers, and water chestnuts. When it came time to serve, I served it with sliced napa cabbage and spinach.
It was so perfect for a hot summer day- and really delicious. The only suggestion I have is that if you decide to mix it with a green as I did, use the green as a bed if you plan to have leftovers. The next day, the spinach was very unappealing and wilted, and I ended up having to pick it out in order to eat the rest of it.
Almond Chicken Salad
In a large bowl, mix together the onions, carrot, red pepper, peas, chicken, cilantro and almonds. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, teriyaki sauce and dry mustard until smooth. Pour over salad mixture and toss until coated. Serve in pita pockets or on a bed of lettuce.