DIY: Asian Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is very easy to make with regular ingredients from your grocery store. After one bite this will become your new party go-to-recipe.


Asian Pasta Salad
Lou Crandall, Savory Catering
Makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients
 Salad:
2 cans (30 oz total) mandarin oranges, drained
2 cups chicken breasts
1 bag (16 oz) bowtie pasta
1 bag (6 oz) Craisins
1/2 cup fresh chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
1 bunch green onions, chopped on the diagonal
1/4 cup raw (untoasted) sesame seeds
6 oz honey roasted peanuts
1 1/2 bags (15 oz) fresh baby spinach OR cooked edamame

  Dressing:
3/4 cup teriyaki sauce
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
6 TBLS sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 cup sesame oil (not sesame-flavored oil)

Directions
Drain Mandarin oranges, set aside.
Put raw chicken breasts onto a sheet pan, uncovered, and roast in oven at 450 degrees until an internal temperature of 145 degrees in the thickest part of the meat. Remove from oven, cover tightly with foil and allow to rest for 15 mins.
Put ice and water in a large bowl and set aside. Cook pasta according to package until al dente. Immediately immerse pasta in the ice-water bath after cooking to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
In a blender or food processor, mix together the teriyaki sauce, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. With the blender running, slowly drizzle in the sesame oil to combine and emulsify with the other ingredients. Set aside.
When the chicken has finished resting, uncover and slice into large cubes. Cool to at least 40 degrees in the fridge.
Combine all ingredients except spinach (edamame can be combine at this time), peanuts, and dressing. Store in fridge until service, adding the other ingredients.

Tip
It is very important to immerse the bowtie pasta in cold water after cooking. This stops the cooking process. Bowtie pasta is quite fragile after being cooked.
If salad is not being served the same day, then refrigerate all ingredients until ready to use. This can be prepped up to 2 days if nothing is combined.
Add spinach last so it doesn't become limp and soggy.