Chinese Turkey Salad

I was watching FoodTV a couple of weeks ago while working on my art room.  Giada De Laurentiis made this salad.  I thought we would go to Shakespeare in the Park last night so made the turkey and the dressing the night before.  But after playing golf in 90+ degree heat and swimming laps for a ½ hour it was all I could do to finish this salad.  It is absolutely delicious.  It serves 4-6.  I mixed all the lettuces and then divided in half.  I then divided everything else in half.  If you make the entire recipe you had better have an enormous bowl. 

 Ingredients:

Turkey:

4 C low-sodium chicken broth

1 C low-sodium soy sauce

1 C OJ

2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

1-2” piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1-3 to 31/2# bone-in, skinless turkey half-breast (I had to buy a whole one and Jim cut it in half.  The other half is in the freezer.)

Wontons:

2 C vegetable oil

10 wonton wrappers, cut into 1/2” strips

Dressing:

1/3C grapeseed or vegetable oil

3 T low-sodium soy sauce

2 T apple cider vinegar

2 T maple syrup

2 T OJ

1 T toasted sesame seeds

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Salad:

½ C sliced almonds, toasted (I had a ton a pine nuts, so I substituted)

1-1# head roamine, torn into 1” pieces

½ head iceberg lettuce, shredded

½ head Napa cabbage, 8oz., shredded

3 scallions, thinly sliced

½ red bell pepper, stemmed, seeds and ribs removed, cut into ¼” strips

Directions:

1.      For the turkey:  In a 4-5 qt. saucepan, combine the broth, soy, oj, garlic and ginger.  Add the turkey, breast-side down, and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pan and cook until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 165 degrees F, 45 to 50 minutes.  Mine took about 10 minutes longer and I turned the breast when it did not register after the allotted cooking time. 

2.      Let the turkey cool for 20 minutes.  Using 2 forks shred the meat into 2” pieces.

3.      For the wontons:  In a heavy, medium saucepan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F.  Add the wontons and fry until golden 30-45 minutes.  Drain on paper towels.  Set aside.  (You can also buy them and I did.)

4.      For the dressing:  In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, syrup, oj, sesame seeds, 1 ½ t sald and ½ t pepper until smooth.  Season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. 

5.      For the salad:  In a large bowl, toss together the almonds, romaine, iceberg, Nappa, scallions and bell pepper.  Add the dressing and the shredded turkey and toss until coated.  Garnish with fried wontons and serve.