Who knew that it would be so difficult to find ponzu sauce? I checked at the supermarket and went to the Asian market twice, to no avail. I think that the guy stocking the shelves in the soy sauce/vinegar aisle at the Asian market, who happened to be there on both days that I went, thought I was a little nutty. Oh well. In the end, I improvised and substituted a soy sauce and lemon juice combo. My sauce didn’t have the fish and seaweed elements, but all worked out well, anyway.
The chicken salad was bright and fresh tasting, with the cool, crisp cucumber and crunchy baby bok choy and peas. And the sauce seasoned everything, including the chicken, quite well. I ended up adding extra crushed red pepper, which I used in place of the jalapeno chile, to spice things up a bit more. Oh, and I baked the chicken instead of poaching it for some added flavor and used parsley instead of cilantro because I’m not a real fan of cilantro.
adapted from Bon Appetit, May 2008
INGREDIENTS
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
5 fresh parsley sprigs plus 1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 whole green onion plus 2 green onions, chopped
8 oz. sugar snap peas
3 baby bok choy, sliced crosswise
1 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced crosswise
1/4 – 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 1/2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 1/2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake chicken breasts for 20-30 minutes, until no longer pink inside. Remove and set aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, lemon juice, rice vinegar, ginger, canola oil, and crushed red pepper. Set aside.
3. Fill a saucepan with salted water and bring to a boil. Add parsley sprigs, whole green onion, and sugar snap peas. Boil for 1-3 minutes, until crisp tender. Cook longer if you prefer your peas to be softer. Drain and rinse peas under cool water. Discard parsley sprigs and green onion.
4. Shred chicken. Toss chicken, sugar snap peas, chopped parsley, chopped green onions, baby bok choy, and cucumber in a large bowl. Add soy sauce mixture to the salad and toss to coat. If needed, season with salt, pepper, and additional crushed red pepper.
Posted in Food, Salads | 2 Comments »
This sounds so light and refreshing — really, a perfect summer salad. Actually, its appeal would endure year-round, but it’d be especially welcome now, as we enter the tropics.
The colors are so vibrant too (as is the photography)!
posted: May 15th, 2008 at 2:24 pmLove the recipe, I’m always looking at different veg to use in my recipe. Today it’s bok-choy tomorrow who knows. I know what we are having tonight.
posted: March 6th, 2012 at 2:39 pm