"Asian" Chicken Salad

I love salads for lunch, but they must have meat in them or I get hungry again in less than an hour. But making meat for a salad sort of defeats the purpose of having an easy meal, because I hate the frozen packs of chicken at most markets because they're injected with brine and taste mushy. Therefore, getting chicken for a salad meant roasting a whole bird, taking it apart, and saving chunks for a week's worth of salad.

Enter Trader Joe's. Their frozen chicken breasts are not injected with anything. They're simply flash frozen, and I'm sure the birds they use are healthier for you too. It's not the best chicken in the world, but chunks of chicken for a salad don't need to be Zuni quality. I just let it sit in about half a teaspoon of salt per breast overnight, pound it with my fist until it's a uniform thickness (very fun, by the way), and cook it on low heat until it's brown on both sides (about five minutes a side). Let rest, then cube.

Long story, I know. Here's the dressing guidelines. I can't call it a recipe because it's really meant more as inspiration for people who know how to put dressing together but haven't considered these ingredients together:

• one large lime
• several tablespoons of miso (I had yellow in the fridge, feel free to use red)
• very small amount of red or white wine vinegar
• a tablespoon of sugar
• water or tangerine juice
• half a teaspoon of sesame oil
• a splash of sake, if you're the kind of person who keeps sake in the freezer

Combine the zest and juice of the lime with equal parts miso. Whisk it together with half of the sugar, then taste. If it needs more salt, add more miso. If it's too sour, add a little sugar or water. If it's somehow not sour enough for you, add a little vinegar. I know, so precise. Add the sake and sesame oil to taste as well, then whisk everything together.

Add a tablespoon of water or juice to get thin out the dressing to a non-gloppy consistency. If you want, you can blend this in a blender to get it really smooth. I would do that if I quadrupled the recipe to make a whole bottle of dressing, but for this amount it seems silly.

Asian salads, for me, always have chicken and tangerines. Therefore, you'll need a can of mandarin oranges (which is where you get the juice from). Other add ins include fried wonton strips (too fatty for me to make at home), sliced carrots, alfalfa sprouts, or sometimes cold noodles for even more bulk. Toss some baby lettuce with dressing, toppings, and chicken, and you're set to go.