Won Ton Chicken Salad

This month as we focus on the importance of gardening I am also going to share some of my favorite salad recipes. There are few things I love more than having a crisp salad for dinner in the hot summer months. I know some husbands turn up their nose to a salad for dinner, but I can promise you the salad recipes I will be sharing with you are hearty enough and filling enough you can eat them as your main course.

I have shared many salads over the past few years, but this one is one of my favorites. There are several recipes that are similar to this one, but the dressing on this salad is what makes it a perfect 10 to me. I love the creaminess of the dressing as well as the sweet/salty and the kick from the cayenne pepper. The rice in this salad is also unusual for a salad, but is a MUST with this dish. The sticky calrose rice soaks up all of the delicious dressing and makes this salad different than most other wonton salads.
This salad is perfect for a ladies lunch, baby/wedding shower or any other get together you may have coming up. It is pretty, easy to assemble ahead of time, and tastes great warm or cold (rice and chicken anyway). I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I do!

Won Ton Chicken Salad
1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
2 green onion stalks, diced
3 c. cooked and diced chicken breasts (I grill my chicken and cube. I also heavily season my chicken with good ol' Montreal Steak Seasoning)
1/2 package wonton skins, cut thin and deep fried
2 cans mandarin oranges, drained
2 c. cooked rice
Dressing:
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
3/4 t. ginger powder
1/3 c. mayonnaise
1/8 t. cayenne pepper (or more if you like more spice)
1/4-1/3 c. sugar (depending how sweet you like it--I of course like more sugar ;)
2 t. sesame seeds
2 T. soy sauce

Cook and cut up the seasoned chicken breasts. Cut up the vegetables. Cook the rice. Fry the wonton strips in hot oil until crispy and then let them dry on a paper towel until ready to serve. Mix the dressing until it is smooth and mixed well. Serve salad with warm rice on the bottom of a plate and then topped with the other toppings. Drizzle with plenty of dressing and sprinkle with the fried wontons and extra sesame seeds.