Salad On Tuesday: Week 11 {Asian Chicken Salad}

Putting on my deerstalker and getting out my magnifying glass (think Sherlock Holmes), I went in search of a recipe for my favorite salad at Panera Bread, the Asian Chicken Salad.  I thought that I could wing it on the salad ingredients and their proportions (although I had mistakenly assumed that you could buy the wonton strips), but I wanted some guidance in making the dressing.  Yes, I knew that sesame oil was a key ingredient, but I knew I needed to nail the dressing in order to convince myself that this salad-at-home was an acceptable substitute.

This detective did not have to search long to find this copycat recipe...on Panera's own website, no less, giving evidence of credibility.

Last week, the girls and I pitched in to make this salad...Kati washing and spinning Romaine, Bekah chopping cilantro, me frying wonton strips, both girls making the all-important dressing.  Then we all sat down to this very convincing Asian Chicken Salad...not quite as good as the real deal, but a satisfying substitute.    

Click ~ HERE~ for recipe.

Notes:

• When frying the wonton strips, be aware that they cook within seconds.  I could barely get them out of the hot oil before they were too brown.  (I did not measure the temperature of my oil as the recipe directs, so that may have been the problem.)

• Next time, I'll add a little more rice vinegar to the dressing for a bit more tang.  

Well, we're almost at summer's end (picture me with a huge grin while saying that), but I have one more salad to share next Tuesday.

Have you been enjoying some new salads as I have been this summer?

Looking for a recipe from another week?

Week 1:   BLT Macaroni Salad

Week 2:   Pesto Pasta Salad

Week 3:   Layered Caribbean Chicken Salad

Week 4:   Chicken Salad Deluxe
Week 5:   Cheeseburger Salad
Week 6:   Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Week 7:   Chicken BLT Salad 
Week 8:   Broccoli Salad à l'Orange
Week 9:   Greek Pasta Salad
Week 10: Caprese Salad