Chinese Chicken Salad

1. Salt and pepper chicken well. Fill a large roasting pan with steep sides about half full of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. (I use a big pan and place it over two burners at once.) Add chicken breasts; reduce heat to simmer; cover. (I use a cookie sheet.) Poach about 20 minutes. Remove chicken from heat. Pour off broth and reserve for another use, such as soup. Shred chicken into small pieces, removing fat or gristle; (discard this) and cover and refrigerate the chicken. (The chicken, almonds, and dressing can all be made ahead of time and stored separately.)
2. Toast almonds. You can do this 1 of three ways: 1: in a dry nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently. 2: on a microwave-safe plate in the microwave about 1 minute uncovered(time varies depending on power of microwave), or 3: on a cookie sheet in a 350 oven for about 5 minutes or until browned. Cool and reserve.
3. Mix together dressing in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake and reserve.
4. Toss chicken with remaining ingredients and some of the dressing at serving time.
You can vary this salad easily by adding or substituting ingredients such as snow peas, broccoli, noodles, bok choy, lettuce, water chestnuts, sesame seeds, mushrooms, asparagus, or fresh fruit. Any or all of these could also be used as a garnish.
Dressing
3/4 cup wine vinegar (red, white, or a mixture)
1/3 cup toasted sesame oil