Tea-Smoked Chicken Salad with Radicchio, Mint, and Wild Mushrooms

Name: Tea-Smoked Chicken Salad with Radicchio, Mint, and Wild Mushrooms
Yield: Serves 3 to 4 as a main course, 6 to 8 as part of a multicourse meal
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: Several pieces cassia or cinnamon bark, crumbled; 1 teaspoon rice bran, corn, or peanut oil; Several finger-lengths of fresh orange zest, coarsely chopped; 2½ cups thinly sliced (¼ inch) spinach leaves; ¼ cup lightly packed purple or green basil leaves (cut in half if large); 2½ teaspoons distilled white vinegar; ¼ cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves (cut in half if large); ½ cup juice from China Moon Pickled Ginger; 2½ cups thinly sliced (¼ inch) radicchio ribbons; ½ teaspoon soy sauce; ½ cup finely slivered fresh shiitake caps and/or trimmed and slivered chanterelles; Enoki mushrooms, spongy bases removed, for garnish; ¼ cup fragrant dry black tea leaves, such as lichee black or rose black; ¼ cup packed brown sugar; ¼ cup raw rice; 2 whole boneless fresh chicken breasts with skin on, split in half (4 pieces); ½ teaspoon Roasted Szechwan Pepper-Salt; 2 to 3 tablespoons corn or peanut oil, for searing; 1 tablespoon Szechwan peppercorns; 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green and white scallion rings; ¼ cup sliced (½ inch) Chinese or Western chives

Preparation info

Serves
3 to 4
as a main course

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

China Moon Cookbook

By Barbara Tropp

Published 1992

About

This recipe was the creation of one of our early sous-chefs, Camille Convy, and I think it is a great example of East-Westism. It is also delicious (not always the case when East and West meet), absolutely beautiful, and very easy to do in spite of a plethora of ingredients. If you have someone to impress, this very upscale chicken salad is an ideal candidate.

All the preparations may be done a day in advance. Toss the salad together at the last minute.

Ingredients

Asia
China
Dinner
Spicy

Ingredients

Method