Napa Cabbage Salad

Give classic dish an update

BY JIM ROMANOFF

For The Associated Press

Restaurant diners hoping to lighten their load often go for salads. The usual suspects? The grilled chicken Caesar, the Cobb and Chinese chicken salad.

Here's the problem-- they're not always as light as you might think. At one popular national chain, the Chinese chicken salad has almost 25 grams of fat and the Cobb salad has 80 grams. You might as well just eat a cheesy pizza.

But don't write off the idea of a dinner salad just yet. Our Valencia grilled chicken salad is a healthful reimagining of the Chinese chicken salad that can be prepared at home in under a half an hour.

We start with Napa cabbage, which has yellow-green, ruffled leaves that are a lot more inviting than your standard, rather rubbery-looking green cabbage.

And Napa cabbage, besides being an excellent source for vitamins A and C, has a high water content, which makes it filling without lots of calories. The salad is enriched with a rainbow of other nutritious fruits and vegetables, such as wedges of Valencia orange, red bell pepper and carrots.

The dressing for this salad is key to keeping it light. Instead of going the traditional route of using a high-in-fat oil base, we call for sweet white miso, a fermented soybean paste that gives the dressing its body along with a mellow, sweet and salty flavor. Look for it along with other refrigerated Asian ingredients in the produce section.

Of course, the salad wouldn't be right without crunchy chow mein noodles on top. When you buy them, choose carefully as some are fried and have considerably more fat and calories than baked varieties.

VALENCIA GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD

Start to finish: 25 minutes Makes 4 servings

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts teaspoon salt Ground black pepper, to taste 4 Valencia or navel oranges cup sweet white miso 3 tablespoons rice vinegar 2 tablespoons peanut oil, preferably toasted 1 tablespoon honey 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger 3 tablespoons water 3 cups thinly shredded Napa cabbage 1 small red bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced 1 cup shredded carrots cup sliced scallions 1 cup chow mein noodles

Directions: 1. Heat a gas grill to high or light a charcoal fire. 2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. 3. Grill until cooked through and registers 165 degrees at the center, about 5 minutes per side. 4. Set aside to cool. 5. Slice both ends off oranges. 6. Holding oranges over a bowl to collect juices, use a sharp knife to remove peel and white pith. 7. Cut the orange segments from surrounding membranes; discard membranes. 8. Set collected juice aside and place orange segments in a large serving bowl. 9. To the bowl with reserved juice, add miso, rice vinegar, peanut oil, honey, ginger and water. 10. Whisk until smooth, then set aside. 11. To bowl of oranges, add cabbage, bell pepper, carrots and scallions. 12. Add two-thirds of the dressing and toss to combine. 13. Shred reserved chicken and toss with remaining dressing. 14. To assemble salads, place some of cabbage mixture on each serving plate, then top with some of shredded chicken mixture. 15. Garnish with chow mein noodles before serving.

Spicy Pork and Napa Cabbage Salad | MyGourmetConnection Recipes

Spicy Pork and Napa Cabbage Salad

This main-dish salad is made with fresh spinach, crisp Napa cabbage and red bell pepper, tossed with an easy homemade ginger dressing. Topped with tender cubes of stir-fried pork that have been seasoned with spicy sriracha, ginger and garlic, this flavorful combo makes a terrific choice for a light, low-carb dinner.

Trim any excess fat and silver skin from the pork, halve lengthwise, then slice crosswise into 1/2-inch thick cubes. Place in a bowl and add the sriracha, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger and some freshly ground black pepper. Toss to coat and set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine the Napa cabbage and red bell pepper. Add 6 tablespoons of the Ginger Dressing and a few grinds of black pepper and toss.

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the pork and stir fry until browned on the outside and barely pink in the middle, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the scallions and cook 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Divide the spinach between 4 salad plates and top each with a portion of the Napa cabbage mixture. Add the pork and drizzle each portion with 1/2 tablespoon of the reserved Ginger Dressing.

Bought a napa cabbage. Want to make a slaw/salad...any favorites?

No prob leaving out the chicken flavor“@HollySeee: thank you! Here ya go! :)

thank you! Here ya go!

Very yummy site now that I'm home. Sucky on a smartphone. Found minimal use of mayo here: Dank!

Napa Cabbage Salad = newest addiction

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