Tuesday, August 26, 2008

oriental chicken wraps

Due to the fact that Chef D strongly dislikes chow mein noodles and prefers not to include mandarin oranges in a wrap, I made a few alterations to the recipe. Instead of chow mein noodles, I fried up a few wonton wrapper strips and julienned a carrot to include in the wrap. On the side, there was fresh honeydew melon balls, strawberries and green grapes (mostly on 'my' side, as Chef D passed on the fruit).

REVIEW:
Goal: Prepare a meal instead of dining out

Flavor:
Chef D had issues with the mixed cultures being represented (using the hispanic culture's flour tortillas with chinese-flavored filling elements). This was especially noticeable with this recipe since it brought to mind (or palate) one of his favorites, Oriental Chicken Salad, but was higher in carbs due to the tortillas. The fried wonton wrapper strips definitely helped add to the flavor in the place of the chow mein noodles.
I enjoyed the wrap, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had followed Chef D's lead and use the Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing we had in the fridge instead of the recipe's dressing. My favorite part was how the flavors were reminiscent of the Oriental Chicken Salad that Chef D made for me first during the beginning of our courtship.
Texture:
Chef D appreciated the crunch provided by the fried wonton wrapper strips, which he thought was necessary to pull off acheiving the specific flavor combination similar to his Oriental Chicken Salad.
Texture isn't really a think I think about, unless is is total mush or slimy. Therefore, the texture for this was just fine for me.
Ease of Preparation: The marinade was so easy and only had 4 ingredients. It also helped using a ziploc bag. Prep time was minimal.
Goal Success: 5 stars since we ate it and did not dine out.

Recommendations for future use: Chef D suggested preparing only 1 chicken breast in the future (instead of the 3 that were prepared tonight) unless I was planning to use leftover chicken as part of other meals during the week. He also suggested using a sesame chinese chicken salad dressing instead of the mayonnaise dressing provided in the recipe as well as tossing the green onions (their flavor was hidden with everything else in the filling). I think I should fix the Oriental Chicken Salad soon so I can share the recipe here.

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