teriyaki mushroom, spinach, and chicken salad

need a break from all the pie and cookies and stuffed birds and alcohol and pasta and all the other heavy foods we stuff ourselves with this time of year(...and we haven't even gotten into the thick of it yet)? yea, me too. this salad is perfect this time of year. the mushroom and chicken is perfectly spiced and just hot enough to wilt the spinach ever so slightly. and since it's thrown together in an easy thirty minutes, it's also the perfect weeknight dinner after an evening of battling the christmas crowds.

want a vegetarian meal? skip the chicken and double the mushrooms. you won't miss it.

teriyaki mushroom, spinach, and chicken salad
adapted from mark bittman, as seen in cooking light
30 minutes, serves 4

1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken, cut into bite size pieces
1 pound sliced baby portabella mushrooms
2 tablespoons peeled minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon (~ 2 cloves) minced garlic
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons mirin, sweet marsala wine, or dry sherry
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
6 ounces baby spinach (about 8 cups)
1 1/2 cups chopped green onions, dark green parts only
vegetable oil, salt, & pepper

1. do all of your cutting and measuring before you start cooking. once you start cooking, it will go fast.
   
2. heat a wok or large skillet over high heat and coat with vegetable oil. add chicken, season with salt & pepper, and cook about 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. remove chicken from the pan and set aside.
3. add mushrooms to the pan and season with salt and pepper. cook about 5 minutes until the mushrooms are mostly cooked and almost all the liquid has been cooked off.
4. add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, ginger, and garlic. cook about 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
5. return the chicken to the pan. add the soy sauce, mirin, and rice vinegar. cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. remove pan from heat. toss the spinach and green onions together and serve the chicken and mushroom mixture over the spinach.