Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad with Ginger Dressing
An Asian-style sesame chicken pasta salad has tons of fresh lettuce, diced chicken, mandarin oranges, and crunchy romaine. The sesame ginger dressing is so irresistible you'll want to pour it on everything. This salad is sure to be a family favorite!
Servings: 4 -5 servings
Ingredients
Salad:
- 6- ounces farfalle pasta
- 12-14 ounces ~1 3/4 cup cooked diced chicken*
- 4 cups romaine salad mix
- 1 15-ounce can mandarin oranges
- 1/3 cup toasted sliced almonds
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/2 cup chopped scallions
- wonton strips or chow mein noodles*
Dressing:
- 1-2 small cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 tablespoon ginger paste
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2-3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup clear flavorless oil
Instructions
- Pasta: Boil the pasta according to package directions.
- Salad: Add the romaine mix, cooked pasta, chicken, mandarin oranges, sliced almonds, chopped cilantro, and scallions to a large bowl. Dress the salad with the desired amount of dressing.
- Dressing: Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a mason jar, cover and give it a good shake until the ingredients combine. Note that if you use 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, you'll get a sweeter dressing, 3 tablespoons yield a more balanced flavor. We prefer it with 3 tablespoons.
Notes
- If you'd like to grill your own chicken, I usually marinate it in 2 tablespoons soy sauce + 1 tsp sugar + 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes + 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder + 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil. Just let the chicken hang around for about 20 minutes and grill it up. Let it rest at room temp for a few minutes before dicing.
- I've found wonton strips in the salad aisle of my grocery store where they keep the croutons. The chow mein noodles are the crispy ones that they keep in the Asian section of the international aisle. They're crunchy and usually come packaged in a blue can.
- Leftover salad dressing can keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, but I really doubt it'll stick around for that long!
