Healthy recipe: Chinese chicken & noodle salad

Yield: 4 servings

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

To Make Ahead: Refrigerate the vegetables, toasted noodle mixture, chicken and dressing in separate containers for up to 1 day. Toss together just before serving.

Recipe Description:

This delicious Chinese-inspired salad is crisp, crunchy and cool with shredded cabbage, carrots and chicken breast tossed with toasted ramen noodles and slivered almonds. The dressing is an addictive orange, sesame, ginger and soy combination—you may want to double the dressing and save some for a salad the next day.

Recipe Ingredients:

1. 1 3-ounce package low-fat ramen-noodle soup mix (see Note)
2. 1/4 cup slivered almonds
3. 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
4. 1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil
5. 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
6. 3 1/4-inch-thick slices fresh ginger
7. 1/2 teaspoon salt
8. 3 tablespoons orange juice
9. 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
10. 5 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
11. 5 teaspoons sugar
12. 3/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
13. 2 cups shredded green cabbage
14. 1 medium carrot, shredded
15. 3 scallions, chopped

Recipe Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Crumble ramen noodles onto a large rimmed baking sheet (discard seasoning packet). Add almonds, sesame seeds and canola oil; toss to coat. Bake for 10 minutes. Stir, then bake until the noodles are golden brown, about 5 minutes more. Let cool on the pan on a wire rack.
3. Meanwhile, place chicken in a medium skillet or saucepan with water to cover. Add ginger and salt; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently until no longer pink in the center and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 165°F, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a clean cutting board to cool. Using forks, shred into bite-size pieces. (Discard the poaching liquid.)
4. Meanwhile, combine orange juice, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil in a small bowl or jar with a tight-fitting lid. Whisk or shake until the sugar has dissolved.
5. Just before serving, combine the shredded chicken, cabbage, carrot and scallions in a large bowl. Add the toasted noodle mixture and the dressing; mix well.

Recipe Tips & Notes:

1. Tip: Ramen noodles, usually packaged with a seasoning mix to make instant soup, are a convenient—and seemingly healthful—product. But what you may not realize is that the noodles have been deep-fried. A serving of the soup contains 8 grams of fat. Look for baked ramen, with only 1 gram of fat per serving. Be sure to check the label so you know what you’re buying.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 399 calories; 12 g fat (2 g sat, 5 g mono); 96 mg cholesterol; 30 g carbohydrate; 41 g protein; 4 g fiber; 558 mg sodium; 581 mg potassium

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (50% daily value), Vitamin C (35% dv), Folate (26% dv), Magnesium (21% dv), Potassium (17% dv)

2 Carbohydrate Servings

Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 4 lean meat, 1 1/2 fat