Spiral-cut vegetables curl into Asian salad

There are no noodles in this colorful chicken salad, but there are oodles (and oodles) of spiralized vegetables.

That makes this dish ideal for people with wheat sensitivities, who often have to forgo traditional noodle dishes such as pasta, ramen and one of my favorites, beef lo mein.

Long, fine strands of carrot, cabbage and cucumber are the stars of this Thai-flavored salad, which gets a bit of crunch from peanuts and just the right amount of heat from chilelime dressing.

I couldn’t find pak choi, so I substituted thinly sliced Napa cabbage. Roasted or grilled chicken breast is ideal, but there’s no shame in using a rotisserie chicken. If you don’t have a spiralizer, my sympathies! They’re so fun, and not nearly as scary as a mandolin. But you easily can use a julienne peeler to cut the vegetables into long, fine strands.

Depending on how wet you like your salads, you may want to double the amount of dressing.

Gluten-Free Chicken ‘Noodle’

Salad

5½ ounces cooked chicken breast,

sliced 1 head pak choi (Chinese cabbage)

Gluten-Free Chicken ‘Noodle’ Salad

1 carrot, cut into long, thin strands or strips with a spiralizer or julienne peeler 1 cucumber, cut into long thin strands or strips with a spiralizer or julienne peeler 1 shallot, thinly sliced 1½ ounces mixed cilantro and basil leaves, with a few mint leaves, roughly chopped 1½ ounces roasted, salted peanuts For dressing: 4 tablespoons lime juice 2 tablespoons fish sauce 1 to 2 hot red chiles, chopped 1 tablespoon agave syrup 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or

crushed 1 tablespoon rapeseed oil or other

neutral-tasting oil

Mix all the salad ingredients except dressing in a large bowl. Make dressing by placing ingredients in a separate bowl and mixing together well.

Pour dressing over salad, toss well and serve.

Makes 2 servings.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/GRETCHEN MCKAY