Oriental Chicken Pasta Salad

A friend of mine passed this recipe on to me and while I loved it, I went in search of something similar but I little less fattening. I found a lite version, but it didn't come close in flavor and the sauce was quite a bit of work. Now when I make this dish, I borrow the veggies from the lite recipe and use the sauce from the original recipe and have made a great dish for summer. The veggies add a ton of bulk and I toss in extra grilled chicken so I figure I am stretching the sauce & pasta to cover more servings bringing down the calories and fat per portion. (At least that's how I justify it in my own mind.)

Toss Together:

16 oz cooked bowtie pasta

1 ½ c frozen sugar snap peas (whole or cut)

½ -1 c thinly sliced carrots

½ c chopped red onion (or scallions)

1 cucumber sliced into strips

1 red pepper sliced into strips

bag of bean sprouts

bag of broccoli slaw

bag of angle hair slaw (or 4 c napa cabbage)

2-4 c cooked chicken cut in bite size pieces

Mix Together:

1 tsp dark brown sesame oil

¾ c oil

2 tsp soy sauce

¾ c sugar

½ c red wine vinegar

seasoning packets from 2 Ramen “Oriental” or “Shrimp” noodle soups

½ stick butter

1 c sliced almonds

2 pkg ramen noodles

Blend and pour most of the dressing over the bowtie pasta, vegetables and chicken. Refrigerate overnight or at least two hours. Melt ½ stick butter in a skillet. Add 1 cup c sliced almonds and all Ramen noodles, well broken. Brown together and fold into pasta before serving. Add rest of dressing as needed. 

As with many of my favorite recipes this one is easy to tailor to your liking. Use shrimp instead of chicken, or go vegetarian. Swap out or add other veggies you like better. As always, please share how you make this your own. I am always looking for ways to improve a dish.