Asian Chicken Salad

I wanted to try something a little different for dinner the other night.  I'm gearing up for a business trip to Hawaii (I know; life's so hard!) in June, and we're going to try to make it a bit of a vacation, so I'm trying to keep things light and healthy, with tons of fresh veggies!  That said, I knew my husband wouldn't ever pick this off a menu, so I kept my dinner plan to myself.  And wouldn't you know it?!  When he walked in from work and saw me prepping the plates, he asked, "What's that?" followed quickly with, "I'm probably not gonna like it."  I sweetly reminded him of his goal to have a six-pack by the time we leave...  For the record, he did like it, thought it wasn't a fast favorite, but he promised he'd eat it again if I decided to make it a second time...which is good, because I do!  This dinner salad was great and the dressing was amazing (my first time with Miso)!

2 chicken breasts

1/2 small red onion, sliced, plus 2 tablespoons chopped

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons miso (white if you have a choice)

3 tablespoons rice (or red wine) vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons sesame oil

1 red pepper, seeded and sliced thin

Bean sprouts, a couple large handfuls for each salad

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Poach the chicken.  Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add a teaspoon salt and chicken breasts.  Lower heat to just above a simmer and cook until chicken is opaque throughout, 10-15 minutes.  Remove chicken from poaching water (you can save this for other soups) and allow to cool.  Shred chicken using two forks.

Make the dressing.  Combine chopped onion, ginger, miso, vinegar, honey, and oils in a blender.  Pulse until smooth.

Assemble the salads.  Lay a bed of bean sprouts on each plate.  Then arrange peppers, sliced onion, and chicken.  Drizzle with salad.  Garnish with cilantro.

Serves 2 for a meal or 4 for a side dish.

Recipe adapted from Food Made Fast: Salad from Williams-Sonoma.