THE BEST CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD "BUZZ'S PRIZE WINNING CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD A Better Homes & Gardens prizewinner!" INGREDIENTS: CHICKEN: 4 large boneless skinless chicken half breasts 1 cup Teriyaki Sauce Salt and pepper 3 Tablespoons Peanut oil 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger 2 cloves garlic choped fine Marinate the chicken in the Teriyaki, grated ginger, garlic, salt and pepper at least two hours. Heat the oil a skillet and quickly brown both sides of the chicken breasts. Add 1/2 cup of the marinade to the skillet and cover. Poach the breasts (turning once) until the liquid is gone and the breasts are a dark golden brown. Remove and set aside while preparing the salad. This can be done the day before, but refrigerate the chicken in a closed container. SALAD: 2 ripe pineapples, Cut lenthwise (Do not remove the leaves. Trimming them is OK) and hollowed out. Reserving the pineapple. 1 head butter lettuce 1 head Red lettuce, Iceberg or other crisp lettuce 6 scallions diced in rounds, both white and green portions 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves 1 cup bean sprouts 1 tablespoon sesame oil to stir-fry the snow peas 1 cup chinese snow peas, cut in 1 inch pieces and stir fried in sesame oil 1 can sliced water chestnuts 2 mangos, peeled and cubed 2 cups diced pineapple 1/4 cup red bell pepper, julienned 1/4 cup peeled carrot, julienned 1/4 cup roasted cashews ASSEMBLY: 1. Put a large leaf of Red Lettuce in at the stem end of the pineapple. 2. Fill the bottom half of the pineapple with a bed of cut up lettuce leaves 3. Mix the scallions, cilantro, bean sprouts, snow peas, water chestnuts and cashews together and place on the bed of lettuce. 4. Mix the mango and pineapple chunks together and make a layer of fruit 5. Cut a chicken breast lenthwise and then in 1/4 inch slices crosswise (Keeping the shape of the breast) Wth a spatula, lift the chicken breast pieces and place lenthwise on the fruit. 6. Mix the red bell pepper and carrot strips together and place on top of the chicken breasts 7. If you are going to dress the salad and not your guests, this is the time to do that. DRESSING: 1/2 cup peanut oil 2 tablespoons Oriental sesame oil 1 small clove garlic, peeled and blanched 2 tablespoons honey 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 1 teaspoon chili paste or Tabasco® 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter Put all the above ingredients in a jar and tigthten lid. Shake mixture until fully blended. Pour over salad when ready to serve or let your guests serve themselves. GARNISH: Mai Fun, (Chinese rice threads) These thrown into hot oil will expand quickly into a snow white fluffy noodle with which you can top your salad. You can also make scallion flowers, place some Nasturtiums, or pickled ginger. Use your imagination or what you have on hand. You can even use the Chun King® fried noodles sold in most groceries and supermarkets. This is a very spectacular salad and worth every minute of time it takes to prepare. If you want to make an impression, this is really going to make you look good. It tastes great too! Yield: 4 servings   Copyright 2001©The Gutsy Gourmet - All rights reserved