Chinese Chicken & Noodle Salad

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Crumble ramen noodles onto a large rimmed baking sheet (discard seasoning packet). Add almonds, sesame seeds and canola oil; toss to coat. Bake for 10 minutes. Stir, then bake until the noodles are golden brown, about 5 minutes more. Let cool on the pan on a wire rack.

3. Meanwhile, place chicken in a medium skillet or saucepan with water to cover. Add ginger and salt; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently until no longer pink in the center and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 165°F, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a clean cutting board to cool. Using forks, shred into bite-size pieces. (Discard the poaching liquid.)

4. Meanwhile, combine orange juice, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil in a small bowl or jar with a tight-fitting lid. Whisk or shake until the sugar has dissolved.

5. Just before serving, combine the shredded chicken, cabbage, carrot and scallions in a large bowl. Add the toasted noodle mixture and the dressing; mix well.

Tip: Ramen noodles, usually packaged with a seasoning mix to make instant soup, are a convenient—and seemingly healthful—product. But what you may not realize is that the noodles have been deep-fried. A serving of the soup contains 8 grams of fat. Look for baked ramen, with only 1 gram of fat per serving. Be sure to check the label so you know what you’re buying.