chinese chicken salad

i used to make this for my kids.....they LOVED it! CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD

2 each meaty chicken breasts, shredded 1 head iceberg lettuce 2 to 3 stalks green onion 3 tbsp. sliced almonds, toasted 1/4 c. cilantro, coarsely chopped (optional) 1 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds, optional 1/4 pkg. maifun (rice stick noodles) OR 1 can fried Chinese noodles (ex. Chun King) DRESSING: 1/8 c. sesame oil 1/8 c. salad oil 2 tbsp. sugar 3 tbsp. rice vinegar (if white vinegar, can use less) 1/2 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. pepper The secret is in the chicken and the lettuce.  Bake the chicken breasts for about 45 minutes in a preheated oven (400 degrees) After it's cooled a bit, tear apart the meat with your fingers into small, thin strips. That way, there's chicken in every bite. The lettuce should be cut (not torn) into 1/4 inch strips. If they're too long to eat gracefully (after all, this isn't spaghetti), cut them into two or three pieces.Slice the green onion (the green and white part, on the diagonal for a true Japanese cut); toast the sliced almonds (if you're in a hurry, just throw them in); clean, pick and chop the cilantro; toast the sesame seeds until they turn golden brown and start popping (you can do them together with the almonds if you want). For authentic noodles, deep fry the maifun rice noodles. Use a small saucepan to use less oil but make more batches, or use a large saucepan to make fewer batches but use a lot more oil. Heat the oil; throw in a few noodles to test the temperature, the noodle should puff up immediately. Break up the noodles and put in a little bunch at a time because it puffs up to more than five times its size. Combine all ingredients for the dressing in a bottle that you can shake well. Just before serving, mix the dressing with the salad ingredients, then fold in the rice noodles carefully. If you pour the dressing on the noodles, it will get soggy immediately.