Orange-Cashew Chicken Salad
Submitted by Gwenevere
Orange-cashew chicken salad: cooked chicken tossed with orange segments, snow peas, and red bell pepper in a sweet-spicy marmalade-picante-soy dressing. No-cook, ready fast.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
0 minREADY
15 minThis is fridge-clearing lunch prep at its smartest. Leftover chicken gets tossed with juicy orange segments, crisp snow peas, and strips of red bell pepper, then a clever three-ingredient dressing ties the whole thing together.
The dressing is the trick. Orange marmalade brings the sweet and fruity, soy sauce brings the savory, and Pace picante sauce brings the kick. Together they taste far more complex than the sum of the bottles.
A short chill in the fridge before serving is not skipable. The dressing needs 15 to 20 minutes to soak into the chicken and mellow the raw onion bite.
Cashews go on at the very end, not before. Tossed in early they go soft and lose their signature crunch.
Chef Tips
- Use shredded rotisserie chicken for the juiciest texture. Dry-poached leftover breast can taste stringy against the bright vegetables.
- Slice the onion rings paper-thin and soak in cold water for 10 minutes if you want to tame their sharpness.
- Cut the orange segments over a bowl and catch the juice, then whisk a teaspoon into the dressing for extra citrus pop.
- Toast the cashews in a dry skillet for 3 to 4 minutes before scattering. Lightly browned nuts smell and taste exponentially better than raw.
Variations
- Swap cashews for toasted almonds or sliced macadamia for a different nutty note.
- Replace the chicken with cooked shrimp or sliced grilled steak.
- Use mandarin oranges or grapefruit segments instead of orange for a bittersweet twist.
Ingredients
Directions
Peel and separate orange into sections; cut each section in half.
In large bowl, combine orange, chicken, pea pods, red pepper and onion rings.
In small bowl combine Pace Picante Sauce, marmalade, soy sauce and ginger; mix well.
Toss with chicken mixture. Chill. Line serving plate with lettuce; top with chicken mixture.
Sprinkle with cashews and serve with additional Pace Picante Sauce.
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