Asian Chicken Salad

I downloaded Bumble. I did it sitting in my car in the clinic parking lot during lunch, with the engine running and my heart pounding, as if downloading a dating app were a criminal act requiring a getaway vehicle. I set up a profile. I used a photo from the Fourth of July — me at the grill, laughing, tongs in hand, looking like a woman who is having fun because I was having fun. I wrote: "Single mom, vet tech, ranch girl turned city cook. Looking for someone patient, kind, and willing to try my pot roast." It is both honest and inadequate, because no profile can contain the whole truth, and the whole truth is: I am a woman who was broken and rebuilt herself, and the rebuilding took three years, and the person who emerges from that is someone I'm still learning to describe.

I haven't swiped yet. I opened the app, looked at the faces, and closed it. Three times. Opening the app is step one. Looking at the faces is step two. Swiping will be step three, when I'm ready, which is not today and might not be tomorrow but will be soon because Jen says, "If you wait until you're ready you'll wait forever," and she's probably right. She's annoyingly right about most things.

Lily's competition practice is intensifying. Janet has her riding three times a week now, and the discipline is remarkable — Lily, who can't sit still during dinner, sits perfectly still on a horse, back straight, heels down, hands quiet. The horse transforms her. The horse is the thing that makes the chaos orderly, the loudness quiet, the wildness focused. Lily on a horse is Lily at her best, and Lily's best is formidable.

I made a Thai curry this week — green curry paste, coconut milk, chicken, bamboo shoots, Thai basil (from the garden — I planted Thai basil this year, expanding the herb collection beyond Italian basics). The kitchen smelled like lemongrass and coconut and the taste was rich and warm and miles from Idaho, which is sometimes what I need — to cook my way to another country, to taste something that isn't ranch food, to remind myself that the world is bigger than the Magic Valley and the Bench neighborhood and the kitchen I stand in every night.

That Thai curry unlocked something in me — a reminder that my kitchen doesn’t have to stay inside the Magic Valley, that I can reach for sesame and ginger and mandarin the same way I reached for lemongrass and coconut milk. This Asian Chicken Salad is where that impulse lands when I want something lighter and faster: crisp, bright, a little sweet, a little nutty, and just foreign enough to make me feel like the world is still expanding around me — even on a Tuesday night after barn drop-off.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 cups shredded napa cabbage
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1 can (11 oz) mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/3 cup shredded carrots
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup crispy wonton strips
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Fresh cilantro or Thai basil leaves, for garnish
For the dressing:
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sriracha (optional)
2 tablespoons neutral oil (such as avocado or vegetable)

Instructions

Cook the chicken. Season chicken breasts lightly with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with a drizzle of oil and cook chicken 6–7 minutes per side, or until cooked through (165°F internal temperature). Let rest 5 minutes, then shred or slice thin.
Make the dressing. Whisk together rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, grated ginger, garlic, and sriracha (if using). Slowly drizzle in the neutral oil while whisking until emulsified. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Build the salad base. In a large bowl, combine napa cabbage, romaine, red cabbage, shredded carrots, and green onions. Toss to mix.
Add toppings. Arrange shredded chicken over the greens. Top with mandarin oranges, toasted almonds, wonton strips, and sesame seeds.
Dress and serve. Drizzle dressing over the salad just before serving and toss gently to coat. Garnish with fresh cilantro or Thai basil leaves. Serve immediately so the wonton strips stay crispy.

Nutrition (per serving)

Asian Chicken Salad — Tasting the Wider World One Bowl at a Time