Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad

Well, it's still in the upper 80's here in Chattanooga. I am so antsy to start making soup and spending more time in the kitchen, but I need cool weather to do that!

So, salad again tonight and probably tomorrow night. By Wednesday or Thursday, we should into more seasonal weather (70's!). YEAH!

Needed something tonight that wouldn't heat up and kitchen and try to keep us cool. We love salads, so I tried a new one tonight. It was from Top Secret Recipes for APPLEBEE'S Oriental Chicken Salad. This recipe made two main salads.

APPLEBEE'S ORIENTAL CHICKEN SALAD

Oriental Dressing:
Mix:
3 Tablespoons honey
1 1/2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup mayo (I used reduced-fat)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/18 to 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
Let Chill (I only used about half of this amount.....but we don't like lots of dressing on salads)

I prepared the salad portion of it before preparing the chicken and kept it chilling in the frig. I slightly changed the recipe to use what I had on hand, but basically it's almost the same at the Top Secret recipe. I mixed this in a large bowl:

1 head chopped romaine
1/2 bag prepared cole slaw mix
1 carrot, julienned
1/2 red pepper, very thinly sliced
1 large or 2 small green onions, sliced thinly
1/4 cup crispy chow mein noodles
1 Tablespoon sliced or slivered almonds, toasted

Put in frig while preparing chicken:

8 oz uncooked chicken

Now, generally I just grill the chicken. But I thought I try to follow the recipe of frying the chicken, but lightening it considerably. This is how I prepared the chicken:

In one bowl, whisk one egg (I used 1/4 cup egg substitute) and about 1/4 cup milk (I used skim)
In another bowl, mix 1/2 cup crushed cornflakes and 1/2 cup flour, with a bit of S&P

Cut the chicken into either strips or chunks, however you like them served. Dip the chicken first in the egg mixture, then in the flour mixture.

Instead of pouring a gob of oil in the pan, I first sprayed it heavily with cooking spray. As it was heating, I poured in just enough canola oil to cover the bottom of the pan to give the chicken some crispiness (2 Tablespoons oil at the most). Cook the chicken until brown on both sides. Remove and set on paper towels to absorb any excess oil.

Dress the salad mixture with the Oriental dressing. Divide onto two dinner plates. Sprinkle a few more chow mein noodles and almonds on top. Top with grilled or fried chicken.

I served this with a Pepperidge Farm Artisan Whole Grain Roll (new product I just found in the freezer section, very good, and so handy to have in the freezer) and black, seedless grapes.