On today’s edition of What Should My Postpartum Doula Make For Me….

Chinese Chicken Salad!

This salad is colorful, crunchy, and filled with veggies that will make your taste buds and your body happy. I can top it with shredded chicken and/or peanuts for protein. And, if you love yourself, you’ll have me fry some wonton strips to toss on top. The dressing is spicy, sweet, sour, creamy, delicious.

Why you want your postpartum doula to make this:

1. It can be made ahead of time and eaten for a few days.
2. It requires lots of chopping, which is tricky to do while you’re holding a baby.
3. If you want the freshly fried wonton strips (and trust me, you do), it requires standing near some bubbling oil (also difficult while holding a baby)
4. It requires a blender, which your doula can wash and put away before leaving.

Chinese Chicken Salad

(adapted from “Cravings” by Chrissy Teigen)

Make the dressing–

Blend together in a blender until smooth:

1/3 c vegetable oil

1/3 c rice vinegar

1 T soy sauce

1 T hot Chinese mustard (found locally at Lunds and Byerlys or most Asian markets)

1 tsp sesame oil (this can be a strong flavor — consider going light on the sesame oil at first, especially if your children, like mine, will declare the whole salad “too sesame-y”)

1 tsp Sriracha

1 T honey

3 garlic cloves, peeled

Prep the salad–

Place in a large bowl or on a large platter:

6 c Napa or green cabbage, shredded

1 c red cabbage, shredded

1 c cilantro leaves, chopped

1 large carrot, julienned

1/4 c red onion, thinly sliced

4 scallions, thinly sliced

3 cups shredded/chopped rotisserie chicken

Make the wonton strips–

Stack:

6 four-inch wonton wrappers

together and cut into 1/2-inch strips. Cover a baking sheet with paper towels and set near the stove. In a medium sauce pan, heat 3 inches of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, test fry one strip: if the strip sizzles and starts to puff up when it hits the oil, it’s hot enough. Working in batches, fry a handful of wonton strips at a time, about 30 seconds, until golden. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon to the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining strips. Sprinkle generously with salt.

Assemble the salad–

Toss the salad ingredients with about half the dressing, then top with the wonton strips. Serve the remaining dressing on the side.

Variations:

Vegan: omit chicken and sub 1 c roasted salted peanuts; omit honey and sub another sweetener, such as brown sugar

Gluten-free: omit wonton strips and get a similar crunch with either a handful of roasted salted peanuts or freshly fried corn tortilla strips.

Timesavers for when you’re making this on your own with one hand: use chicken strips/nuggets in place of the chicken, or splurge on already-shredded rotisserie chicken; use bagged coleslaw mix in place of the cabbage and carrots; use store-bought wonton strips in place of frying your own (but only as a last resort).

For older sibling(s) who don’t like foods touching/spicy things/green things: serve them some of the chicken, wonton strips, and julienned carrots with a side of the dressing for dip (or sub their preferred dip).