Glass Noodle, Spicy Chicken and Spinach Salad

This salad was absolutely delicious and would be wonderful on a hot summer day. I also love that I was able to get everything prepared ahead of time and just toss it all together right before serving, a perfect salad for a gathering. I'm looking forward to having this again very soon.

Glass Noodle, Spicy Chicken and Spinach Salad 

3 oz. thin cellophane noodles
1 1/2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breast
5 TBS. medium sweet soy sauce
Shichimi togarashi, to taste
6 cups (loosely packed) fresh spinach leaves, thinly sliced
1 cup thinly sliced napa cabbage
1 medium unpeeled cucumber cut into matchsticks
1 bunch fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
1 small fresh poblano chili, stemmed, seeded and finely minced
ginger dressing (recipe below)
1/4 cup white sesame seeds, toasted

Put the noodles into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak the noodles until softened and pliable, about 10 minutes. Drain well in a colander and rinse until cool. With a scissors or knife, cut the noodles a bit to make them a little shorter. Set aside.

Brush all sides of the chicken breasts with 3 TBS of the sweet soy sauce and season with the shichimi togarashi. Grill or broil until cooked. Remove, cool and cut into thin strips.

In a large bowl add the cooled noodles, spinach, napa cabbage, cilantro, red onion and poblano. Pour on enough dressing to coat and toss well. Top the salad with the sliced chicken. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top and then drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sweet soy sauce and a bit more of the ginger dressing.

Ginger Dressing

1 medium carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup rice vinegar 
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 TBS. chopped peeled fresh ginger
fruit from 1/2 of a lemon
1 TBS. ketchup
1/4 tsp. Shichimi togarashi
2 TBS. water
1/2 cup Grapeseed oil 

Put all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Enjoy!!