Asian Chicken Salad with Hoisin Vinaigrette

Asian Chicken Salad with Hoisin Vinaigrette
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Makes 4-6 servings.

Note: If you like your salad dripping with salad dressing, you may want to double the dressing ingredients. I thought the subtle hint of dressing was perfect but my husband wished there was a bit more dressing to adorn his salad.

1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely grated
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 medium head napa cabbage, sliced crosswise into ¼-inch-thick shreds, about 4 cups
1 head Romaine lettuce, cut into bite-size pieces (about 4 cups)
1 large red bell pepper, seeds and membrane discarded, sliced thinly
1 cup bean sprouts
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup chow mein noodles

Whisk the vinegar, oil, soy sauce, hoisin, and ginger together in a medium bowl. Remove ½ cup dressing from the bowl and set it aside. Add the chicken to the remaining dressing in the bowl, toss to coat, and let marinate 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack so it is 6 inches away from the broiler and heat the broiler. Coat the broiler pan top with vegetable spray. Remove the chicken from the marinade, discard the liquid, and lay the chicken breasts on the broiler pan top. Place the broiler pan top over the broiler pan bottom and place under the broiler. (Alternately, you can use a baking sheet pan lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.) Broil the chicken until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Flip the chicken and broil until it is fully cooked, 3 ½ to 4 minutes.

Place the chicken on a clean plate and cover with plastic wrap. Poke a few vent holes in the wrap and refrigerate the chicken while preparing the other ingredients.

Shred the cooled chicken and toss it with the cabbage, romaine lettuce, red pepper, sprouts and scallions in a large serving bowl. Rewhisk the dressing, pour it over the chicken salad, and toss to combine (if you want to prevent leftovers from getting soggy, you may want to pour the dressing over each individual serving so you can store the dressing separately in the fridge to eat with the leftover salad). Sprinkle with the chow mein noodles and serve immediately.