Asian Chicken Salad

Have I mentioned how much I love Asian-inspired dishes?  Well, here's another one for you!  And it is yummy!  I just so happened to have everything on hand.....my herbs are in full bloom so that was a given, and the remains of a grocery store rotisserie chicken.  Although this calls for Napa cabbage, I used "Shreds," the shredded iceberg lettuce you can find in your grocer's bagged lettuce area.  This recipe came from this month's "Relish" magazine, which comes monthly in our local newspaper.


ASIAN CHICKEN SALAD (serves about 4)

1/2 head napa cabbage, thinly sliced
2 (3-4 oz) pkgs dried Ramen noodles, seasoning removed, broken into bite-sized pieces
 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 (1") piece ginger root, peeled and grated
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup peanuts, toasted
leaves from 1 bunch fresh basil, sliced
leaves from 1/2 bunch fresh ciltrano, sliced
leaves from 1 bunch fresh mint, sliced

Mix together cabbage, Ramen noodles, and chicken in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, mix hoisin sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, ginger, and green onions.  Pour over cabbage mixture and toss really well to coat all of the ingredients.  (You can do this ahead if you like the ramen noodles softened.  Personally, I like them crunchy, so I only toss it about 15 minutes ahead, at the most.)

Just before serving, sprinkle salad with peanuts and some of the basil, cilantro, and mint.  Or have the herbs in bowls and let your fellow diners put as much/little as they choose.