Sesame Chicken Cucumber Noodle Salad

Ingredients

• 8 oz Chinese egg noodles or other thin noodles or pasta, fresh or dried
• 1 cup creamy low sodium peanut butter
• ½ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp dry sherry or white balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup thinly sliced scallions
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
• 2 tbsp very low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce(use less if desired)
• 2 heads baby romaine or 1 head regular romaine lettuce
• 1½ pounds cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced crosswise into ¼-inch slices and chilled
• 2 medium red bell peppers, cut into ¼-inch dice
• 1 large English cucumber, peeled, seeded, halved lengthwise and cut into ¼-inch slices
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• Toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Directions

Fill a large bowl with water and add ice cubes.

Cook noodles in boiling water until just tender, 2 to 4 minutes if fresh, about 6 minutes for dry (or according to package directions).

Drain and transfer the noodles to the ice water. When the noodles are cold, drain well and transfer to a very large bowl. Set aside.

Whisk peanut butter, vinegar, sesame oil and sherry/balsamic vinegar in a bowl until smooth. Add scallions, cilantro, if using, soy sauce and hot sauce, and stir to blend.

If using baby romaine, half lengthwise, notch out the core, and cut crosswise into ½-inch pieces. If using regular romaine, remove the tougher outer leaves. Halve lengthwise, notch out the core, halve again, and cut crosswise into ½-inch pieces. You should have about 8 cups.

Add the lettuce, chicken, bell peppers and cucumber to the noodles.

Add three-fourths of the dressing and toss to coat. Season with pepper. Add the remaining dressing if desired.

Transfer the salad to a serving bowl. Serve garnished with sesame seeds.

Tips:

1. Cover and refrigerate the salad for up to 1 day or prepare the dressing (cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days; thin with a little water as needed.

2.Toast regular sesame seeds in a small dry skillet over low heat, stirring constantly, until golden and fragrant, about 2 minutes.

3. To quickly poach boneless, skinless chicken breasts, place in a large skillet or saucepan. Add low sodium chicken broth to cover and bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on size.

Adapted from Simply Ming One-Pot Meals by Ming Tsai and Arthur Boehm