I had a rare moment of nostalgia the other night as I was rooting around in my refrigerator looking for a quick dinner. It had been a week since my last grocery trip, but I was too exhausted from work to manage even the most abbreviated visit to my local market. Inspired, I recalled a hot summer day back in Boston, when I was between gigs and working with limited resources. I whipped up this super-simple salad in just a few minutes with the sparsest of ingredients, but it tasted better than most restaurant salads. In its most recent incarnation, I added mandarin oranges to the dish for some extra juiciness and texture. Delicious!
Instant Ramen Chicken Salad
You can use any leftover chicken or shrimp, or shred up some prepared rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Alternately, you can try canned chicken or salmon chunks.
1 pkg. instant ramen soup noodles
1 can chicken or 1 cup prepared chicken, diced
1 small can mandarin orange segments
1 bag ready-to-eat salad greens
dried fruits/nuts that come with salad (optional)
2 tbs. orange juice
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
1 tbs. honey
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
4 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil (omit for lower-fat option)
1. Bring water to boil for noodles. Cook noodles for three minutes, or according to package directions. DO NOT add seasoning/flavor packet!
2. While noodles cook, toss together in large bowl or gallon-size zip-top bag: chicken, mandarin oranges, salad greens, optional dried fruits/nuts.
3. In a bowl, mix together orange juice, salt, and pepper. Add honey and stir carefully, but thoroughly. If honey does not mix easily, microwave the entire mixture for no more than 25 seconds. Stir in optional red pepper flakes. Slowly stream in olive oil, whisking mixture briskly with a fork (omit to save on fat grams!).
4. Drain ramen noodles completely, then carefully cut with kitchen scissors so that the noodles are bite-sized.
5. Add noodles and dressing to salad mix, toss thoroughly, and enjoy!
**I submitted this recipe originally to allrecipes.com, and it is awaiting review.
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