Laura's Asian chicken salad

I've tried many Asian chicken salad recipes, and keep coming back to this one recipe that a dear friend shared with me about 10 years ago. Every time I try a new Asian salad recipe, it just doesn't compare to this one. Maybe I'm nostalgic about the times I would get together with my dear friend Laura and talk over a bowl of this salad, but I really think the recipe is delicious and should be on everyone's meal rotation!

The quantities for the salad are estimated, really you can add more of one thing and less of another, more chicken if you want it to be a main course, less if you want it to be a side... you catch my drift!

Laura's Asian Chicken Salad (serves 4)

about 5 oz baby greens (it's super easy to buy a package of these at your grocery store, no washing, drying, etc.)
1 or 2 grilled chicken breasts (sometimes I just bake them in the oven if it's too cold to go out to the grill)
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
Crispy fried noodles (like LaChoy) tip... if you don't think you'll be eating the entire salad in one sitting, serve these noodles on the side, they'll go soggy if you keep them in the fridge!
3 chopped green onions
chopped, toasted almonds (1/2 cup)
chopped cilantro (1/2 cup maybe)
chopped celery (1-2 ribs)

Dressing
(I've started halving the recipe since I discovered I was always throwing away exactly half after the salad was gone, I'm including the whole recipe here though)

1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup dark sesame oil
1/4 cup regular white sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup canola oil

whisk all ingredients together and serve with the salad. Simple, straight forward, tangy, sweet... Delicious!

And Laura, I miss you more than words can say! I think of you every time I eat this salad (and every day in between, actually).