Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

orange chicken salad

(4 ratings)
Blue Ribbon Recipe by
CC MCCART-FROST
GUATAY, CA

This is lovely for a light supper at the end of a summer's day as you sit on your veranda surveying the gardens on your estate. Okay, I suffer from delusions of grandeur, but you get the idea. I recommend serving with a Chablis (or iced tea), soft bread/roll, and butter. Then follow with a bowl of sherbet.

Blue Ribbon Recipe

Filled with citrus flavor, this orange chicken salad is a delicious option for a lighter meal. Cooking the rice with orange peel gives a slight orange flavor to the rice. Using orange segments in the salad and juice in the vinaigrette pumps up the orange flavor. When you get bits of the roasted cashews, they're a nice crunch. Baked or grilled chicken breasts can be used in this recipe, or pick up a rotisserie chicken at the supermarket. Light and sweet, the vinaigrette dressing would be great on a green salad, too.

— The Test Kitchen @kitchencrew
(4 ratings)
yield 4 serving(s)
prep time 20 Min
cook time 20 Min
method Stove Top

Ingredients For orange chicken salad

  • 3 lg
    seedless oranges
  • 1 c
    long-grain rice
  • 2 c
    water
  • 3/4 c
    vinaigrette salad dressing (see below)
  • 1 lb
    cooked chicken, diced
  • 3 Tbsp
    chopped chives
  • 1/2 c
    roasted cashews
  • salt and pepper
  • cucumber slices, to garnish
  • VINAIGRETTE DRESSING
  • 3 Tbsp
    white wine vinegar
  • salt and papper
  • 2/3 c
    vegetable or olive oil
  • 2 tsp
    Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp
    granulated sugar
  • reserved orange juice from the oranges

How To Make orange chicken salad

  • Peeling an orange.
    1
    For the salad, thinly peel 1 orange. Take only the colored part of the rind and leave the white pith.
  • Combine the orange rind, rice, water, and salt in a saucepan on the stove.
    2
    Combine the orange rind, rice, and water in a saucepan. Add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Then cover and simmer over very low heat for 15-18 minutes or until the rice is tender and all the water has been absorbed.
  • Peeling remaining oranges and cutting into slices.
    3
    Peel the remaining oranges and cut out the segments, reserving any juice.
  • Put the vinegar, salt, and pepper in a bowl and gradually add the oil.
    4
    VINAIGRETTE DRESSING: Put the vinegar, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Whisk to dissolve the salt. Gradually add the oil, stirring with the whisk.
  • Add the orange juice, mustard, and sugar.
    5
    Add the orange juice, mustard, and sugar. Whisk to combine. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
  • Remove orange peel from cooked rice.
    6
    When the rice is cooked, remove it from the heat and cool slightly uncovered. Discard the orange rind.
  • Half the vinaigrette added to the rice.
    7
    Add the rice into a bowl. Add half of the dressing. Toss well and cool completely.
  • Orange Chicken Salad in a serving bowl.
    8
    Add the chicken, chives, cashews, and orange segments to the rice with the remaining dressing. Toss gently. Serve at room temperature, garnished with cucumbers.
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