Asian Chicken Salad

Most Junior Leagues create and sell cookbooks with recipes from their home region. This comes from the Galveston County Junior League's Beachside to Boardwalk cookbook. It's essentially a cole slaw with chicken on top. The chicken is boiled in fresh ginger (and jalapeno, if you want it) before shredding. And the fresh herbs (which I happened to have growing in my garden this year) are wonderful.

Note: You'll probably want more chicken than it calls for, unless you want just a tiny bit of chicken with a big scoop of slaw. Realistically, I ended up eating the two separately. The slaw is best second day, after the flavors have mixed a bit more. The recipe says this serves 4. Well, the chicken may serve 4, but the slaw serves probably double that.

Chicken

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 jalapeno chile, seeded and sliced (I didn't use, but it would probably be good)
1 (1") piece fresh ginger (I grated it)
2 cups water

Rub the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Bring the jalapeno chile, ginger and water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Add the chicken. Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and steam for 5 minutes. (NOTE: The chicken may require more simmer time in order to fully cook.) Once the chicken is cooked through, removed it from the saucepan. Shred the chicken when cool enough to handle.

Cole Slaw

3/4 cup chopped fresh mint
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 1/2 pounds shredded green cabbage
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoons salt (recipe called for 2, but 1 is plenty)
3 large carrots, grated
3 radishes, grated (I didn't use)
4 scallions, chopped (I didn't use)
1 Granny Smith apple, grated
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Mix the mint, basil and cilantro in a bowl and set aside. Combine the cabbage, vinegar, fish sauce, lime juice and teaspoon salt in a large glass or stainless steel bowl and mix well. Let stand for 10 minutes. Add the carrots, radishes, scallions, apple and 1 1/2 cups of the herb mixture and mix well. Stir in 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Spoon onto serving plates. Top with the chicken and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup herb mixture.