Chinese Chicken Salad

1 small - med. head of green cabbage, shredded
1-2 pkgs. ramen noodles, uncooked, crushed
4-6 green onions, chopped
4 c. cooked, diced chicken breast
1/4 c. sunflower seeds
1/3 c. sliced almonds, toasted
2-3 cans mandarin oranges, drained

Dressing:

3/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. rice vinegar
1 tsp. garlic salt
1-2 seasoning packet(s) from ramen noodles

Directions:

Toss salad ingredients together. Mix dressing ingredients together. I usually add just a few teaspoons of the juice from the mandarins to the dressing to thin it out a bit.

Note: You can toss the salad and dressing all together at once if it will all be eaten in one sitting. We like to pour the dressing on the salad as we eat it, to keep the cabbage from wilting and the ramen from getting too soggy.

Peanut Chicken

A Shiozawa family favorite, this recipe was given to me by Troy’s grandma, May Shiozawa, when I was a young bride. She told me, “Oh, this is a good one, and it’s so easy!” Well, Grandma, it is a good one, and not hard to understand, but I wasn’t prepared for the hours on my feet while chopping, dipping, and frying. But it’s worth it to put a beautiful dish of red-sauce covered chicken on the table for my salivating children.

Peanut Chicken
3-4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-size cubes
1/3 to ½ c. corn starch
½ tsp. garlic salt or seasoning salt
2-3 eggs, beaten and thinned w/ a little water

Mix corn starch w/ salt in a medium-size bowl w/ a lid, or in a gallon-size Ziploc bag. Add chicken cubes and toss to coat. Beat the eggs w/ water in another medium-size bowl. Dip chicken cubes in egg mixture, then drop pieces into hot oil (abt. 375 ). Let cook until light brown, abt. 3-4 minutes. Remove chicken from oil w/ a slotted spoon and let drain on several layers of paper toweling. When chicken is all cooked, pour it into a large serving dish and place it in a warm oven while you prepare the sauce.

Sauce:
Pinch salt
1 clove garlic, crushed (I use crushed garlic from a jar)
1 c. sugar
2 c. cold water, mixed w/ 2-3 Tbsp. corn starch to thicken
¾ c. ketchup

Combine all sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and let cook for 2-3 minutes to thicken. The sauce will clarify as it thickens. Pour sauce over warm chicken. Garnish w/ chopped peanuts and chopped green onions.
Serve over hot rice.