| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 40 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 20 min |
| Yield: | up to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 hearts Romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 sack (10 ounces) mixed baby greens
- 2 cups fresh bean sprouts, any variety
- 1 cup thinly sliced daikon or red radishes
- 2 cups shredded carrots, available prepped in plastic bags in produce case
- 8 scallions, sliced on the bias
- 1/2 seedless cucumber, sliced in 1/2 lengthwise, thinly sliced
- 1 pint yellow or red grape tomatoes
- 1 red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
- 1 bunch fresh mint leaves, trimmed
- 1 bunch fresh basil leaves, trimmed
- 2 (2-ounce) packages chopped nuts, found on baking aisle
- 8 slices almond toast or anisette toast, (recommended: Stella D’Oro) cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup tamari dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, eyeball it
- 4 to 8 thin cut chicken cutlets, depending on size
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound mahi mahi
- 1 ripe lime
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar or rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup white grape juice concentrate or apple juice concentrate
- 3 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 inches fresh ginger root, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped nuts (from salad bar)
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar or rice wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup pepper jelly, available on condiment aisle
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons hot chili oil
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
Instructions
- Arrange salad bar ingredients in serving dishes and bowls as you prep them: romaine, baby mixed greens, bean sprouts, daikon radishes, carrots, scallions, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, mint leaves, basil leaves, nuts and sweet almond or anise “croutons”.
- Heat a grill pan over medium high heat.
- Combine soy and oil in a shallow dish. Add chicken and turn to coat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Drizzle fish with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill chicken 3 minutes on each side. Cut chicken into strips on an angle and pile onto a serving plate. Grill fish 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until opaque. Squeeze lime over the fish and break into chunks as you transfer it to a serving plate.
- Combine all ingredients, except oil, for peanut dressing in a blender. Blend for 30 seconds, then open lid and continue dressing by streaming in oil. Transfer dressing to a serving dish and sprinkle the dressing with a spoonful of nuts from your salad bar to garnish the dish.
- For garlic dressing, whisk vinegar, jelly, garlic, black pepper and chili oil together. Stream in vegetable oil while continuing to whisk. When the oil is incorporated, transfer dressing to a small dish to serve.
Reviews
Love this meal. It was a little more work for a weeknight but everyone really went for it.
I made this for a dinner party with some friends – we’re all trying to eat healthy. The dressings were both delicious – the only things I changed were that I added a little more peanut butter to the peanut dressing and I put out some sliced red bell pepper. I think everyone enjoyed getting to make their own salad.
It’s an excellent recipe, and a good idea, BUT:
When I find a recipe in the no-cook section, I expect that recipe to involve no cooking. Period.
This also involves far too much work for a hot summer day.
Yummy salad when you want something different. We substituted some of the ingredients with things that we had (and things that were on sale). The dressings were great. Would definitely do this one again.
Followed similarly to the recipe, substituting a few things for equally yummy veggies. The dressings were a hit, along with the grilled meats. Mix in a few close friends, a bottle of good white wine and it was the best dinner party I’ve ever hosted. We are already looking forward to sharing this with more friends.
This tasted just like the Vietnamese food you get in the foodcourt at the Westboro mall!!!! My 5 year old daughter loved the Vietnamese salad bar! Dear Hubby also loved it and he spent a lot of time in bars in Vietnam! I let her customize hers by serving the salad fixings separately so she could finish building her salad as she pleased. It was so cute the way she imitates Rachael and tosses her her extra food and cookies into the garbage bowl.
Here’s the true measure of success…she told me that on her birthday when she gets to choose dinner, she wants this instead of that Tagglia and Everything salad!
Love Erma
p.s. Rachael keep up the foreign recipes based upon your travels. It is true that travel broadens one!
My kids and I went to the cheesecake factory and had a dish very similar to this (was an appetizer). Anyways, I was excited to try this. We loved, loved it. It is difficult to try and find meals that my kids love, yet that are healthy as well. Also, my kids think it is fun to eat. This will definitely become a regular meal in our household. thank you.
Fun, easy and delicious!
I love to make this in the summer when I have company for lunch – it is great! I do substitute shrimp for the Mahi-Mahi, though. Also – if you put a little of both dressings on your salad, they are great together!
This was fast, easy, and oh so very good tasting . I did substitute the Mahi-Mahi . I used Tilapia instead .
This was wounderful..!!
This was wounderful..!!