Grilled Asian Chicken Salad

When I saw this recipe on Pinterest I knew that I had to give it a try. I don't know if it was because it looked so good or if it was because the person who had pinned it said that this recipe alone had like 20,000 views or something to that effect. Either way my interests were peeked.
Im glad that I did try it. This salad is so light and refreshing but the dressing is packed with so much flavor that you really don't need anything to go along with it. Even if you don't like salads, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND you at least give the dressing a try because it is FANTASTIC!
This is a typical Asian salad, where it doesn't have lettuce but is full of cabbage and carrots instead. (Yes in case you were wondering my nails have been orange for a day now after shredding them on the cheese grater!)
This salad makes a great main dish and can stand all on its own just fine or if you are really hungry and a go getter for meals, then it would make a great appetizer. Oh and I am totally making this for the next Asian Inspired Potluck we have!

I got this recipe from a blog called Menu Musings for a Modern American Mom...yes quite a mouthful but thats okay because this recipe is great! I can't wait to give some of her other recipes a try. Although I see that she noted that this recipe was an adapted version from Curtis Stone. Once I saw that I knew I had to try it as well because well...he is a gorgeous Aussie chef who I used to watch on tv.

Marinade and Dressing
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 cup canola oil
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sriracha sauce
1 tsp kosher salt
2 large chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions (white and green parts)

Salad-
1 lb Napa cabbage, very thinly sliced
2 carrots, grated
3 green onions, thinly sliced and cut on the diagonal
2/3 cup freshly cut cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup slivered almonds, dry toasted
1 tsp white sesame seeds, toasted
1 tsp black sesame seeds, toasted

Marinade. Whisk together the soy sauce, ginger, canola oil, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, and salt to make the marinade. Put the two chicken breasts in a gallon sized zip-top bag and add 3 - 4 Tbsp of the marinade to the chicken.
*NOTE* You are going to reserve the rest of the sauce that we just made (the part that is still in the mixing bowl). It will become the dressing later, and it should never touch the raw chicken.
 Squeeze the air out of the bag so that the marinade comes into contact with the meat. With a meat pounder (or heavy pan, or empty bottle), pound the breasts to a uniform thickness. This will allow them to cook more evenly and also help tenderize the meat. Allow the flattened chicken breasts to marinade 30 minutes.

Dressing. To the reserved marinade, add in the 1/4 cup each of red wine vinegar and sliced green onions. Now we have the dressing.

Grill the chicken. To a hot grill pan (yes, an outdoor grill or 'regular' pan is fine), add the marinated chicken breasts. cook them about 4 minutes per side or until there is no signs of pink and juices run clear when pierced with a small, sharp knife. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and allow them to rest 15 minutes. Please don't cut them right away... all the juices will run out leaving you with dry meat! After the 15 minutes, you will cut them crosswise into 1/4" inch thick slices.

Salad. In a large bowl, add the cabbage, carrots, green onions, cilantro, half of the sesame seeds, and half of the almonds. Add the chicken and mix together. Add just enough of the dressing to coat the salad lightly and toss together.

Serve. Distribute salad to 4 - 6 plates. Re-whisk the dressing and drizzle a little over each salad. Garnish with the remaining almonds and sesame seeds on each salad.

**Randi's Side Notes**
~ I let my chicken marinade a little bit longer so that the flavors could get in a little bit more. Basically I let it marinade while I prepared everything else (and a batch of pancakes for an activity that night as well).
~ You definitely don't need a lot of the dressing. It is very powerhouse but man the flavors are sooooo amazing!
~ Next time I may add in some crunchy Ramen noodles or maybe even some lettuce just to give it a little more variety other then just cabbage.
~ Oh and I couldn't find black sesame seeds anywhere so I just doubled the regular.
~ Make sure if you are gluten free, that you check all the labels of the hoisin sauce and soy sauce, just in case. I know that some specifically state that they are gluten free but others don't.