Asian Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing

For the salad:
1. If making the peanut dressing, do that first so the flavors can marry.
2. Toss the romaine lettuce and cilantro leaves together in a large serving bowl.
3. Layer the vegetables over the lettuce. If you will serve the salad immediately, you could toss the lettuce and veggies in the dressing now. Do not dress the salad until the time of service.
4. Lay the chicken on top of the salad in an attractive manner, and sprinkle the peanuts and crispy rice noodles over the whole salad.
5. Serve with extra dressing on the side.

Notes:
This salad can be assembled in advance and stored in the refrigerator—just don’t put the dressing on until the time of service, or serve the dressing on the side.
If you want to roast the broccoli, cut the broccoli stems in half and lay them cut side down on a sheet pan. Drizzle a tablespoon of canola oil over the top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in a 400ºF oven for 20 minutes.
If you want to roast bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, place 2 to 3 chicken breasts in a shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan. Rub a little olive oil, salt and pepper on the skin of the chicken. Roast in a 400ºF oven for 30 to 40 minutes (depends on the size of the chicken).

For the dressing:
1. Stir all of the ingredients together, except for the hot water.
2. Add the hot water to the other ingredients 1 tablespoon at a time; until the dressing has loosened enough to be tossed with a salad. The amount of water you have to add depends on the peanut butter.

Notes:
This may be thicker than most salad dressings you’re accustomed to.
This dressing recipe makes more than enough for this salad. Use the extra in a stir fry, or toss with warm pasta.