Chinese Chicken Salad
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Made with leftover rotisserie chicken, romaine, napa, crispy wonton strips and the best sesame ginger dressing ever!
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reasons to make Chinese chicken salad at home
- Restaurant quality, tasting even better at home
- Goes well with everything, pairing beautifully with so many main dishes
- Great way to repurpose leftover rotisserie chicken
- Can be made ahead of time, keeping prep time to a minimum
tips and tricks for success
- Prep ahead of time. Save time by making the dressing up to 1 week in advance, and prepping and dicing the vegetables 1-2 days prior and storing them in airtight containers in the fridge.
- Homemade wonton strips goes a long way. Store-bought will save some time in the kitchen but the homemade version requires only 2 ingredients and tastes so much more fresh, crisp and light-textured.
- Add some heat. Need a spicy kick? Add a little bit of Sriracha or sambal oelek to the dressing.
- Make it more filling. Add rotini pasta or soba noodles for a more filling salad.
- Mix it up. Use a different kind of protein, swap the cashews for sliced almonds, or use scallions in place of cilantro.
what to serve with chinese chicken salad
Chinese Chicken Salad: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, we love this Instant Pot rotisserie chicken recipe! So easy and so flavorful (and makes for great salads).
Bell peppers, zucchini and snap peas are all great additions.
These crispy wonton strips are very easy to make with only 2 ingredients!
Absolutely! The dressing can be stored in the fridge, and everything else can be prepped/chopped and stored in separate containers (especially the mandarin oranges to avoid sogginess). When ready to serve, gently toss all of your ingredients together with the dressing.
Chinese Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 head romaine, shredded
- 4 cups shredded napa cabbage
- 3 cups leftover shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1 (15-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- ½ cup roasted salted cashews
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 cups crispy wonton strips, homemade or store-bought
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
for the sesame ginger dressing
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons orange marmalade
- 2 ½ tablespoons canola oil
- 2 ½ tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- To assemble the salad, place romaine lettuce in a large bowl; top with cabbage, chicken, mandarin oranges, cilantro, cashews and green onions. Pour the sesame ginger dressing on top of the salad and gently toss to combine.
- Serve immediately, topped with wonton strips and sesame seeds.
for the sesame ginger dressing
- In a small bowl, whisk together rice vinegar, orange marmalade, canola oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger and sesame seeds; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
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Perfect balance of fresh, crisp flavor-loaded salad for lunch or dinner. Leftovers (with wontons on side) were delicious and still crunchy the next day
Have made this several times. It is a hit in our household. I cook my own chicken…thighs baked with soy, garlic and honey, cooled then added to the top.
I made this salad a few weeks ago and I’m going to make it again tonight! It is refreshing and delicious, great for hot summer days!
Absolutely delicious, light dinner! Perfect for a hot summer night.
This is the best salad, I have ever had.
I rarely leave reviews..but,
Only changes I made the second time was cooking the chicken in the souv
This recipe absolutely deserved one!
It’s 104 here today and it’s my second time making this salad, it’s something you can make in advance and am so happy for the left overs to scarf in the coming hot days!
Bravo chef!
Thank you for the tip! Repurposing rotisserie chicken for a homemade Chinese chicken salad sounds delicious. I love the idea of enjoying a restaurant-quality salad at home. Can’t wait to try it!
Any chance you have the calorie and macro breakdown?
So easy and fresh! The dressing is perfection. Definitely worth it to make the homemade wonton strips- easy!
This is very delicious. Light, fresh and so tasty. A big hit with friends and family.
I made this for 50 people and they absolutely loved it! Thank you. I made noodles out of wontons
cut 1/4″ wide, spread on parchment, spread on a cookie sheet, sprayed them with Pam. Baked for
5-6 minutes at 340 degrees. They stayed crispy for two days and were inexpensive to make.
Made it as written and this salad was exceptional! It will be on the menu rotation.
I’m looking forward to serving this delicious salad at my dinner party. Do you have an appetizer recipe and a dessert recipe that would pair well with the salad? Thank you!
This is really damn delicious!! I used two cans of oranges and left out the onions (sensitive) but will definitely double the dressing next time as I want to eat it on EVERYTHING! Great recipe!!
Perfect in every way, so easy to make. I have been craving Chinese Chicken Salad but could never find a good one at any restaurant. This was exactly what I wanted and remember from my favorite restaurant back home. My daughter and her friends loved it too. I didn’t not make enough.
I just needed the dressing for a salad that was already made, and this was perfect in every way.
This was excellent. Wonderful mix of colours, textures and tastes!
Perfect combination of crunch, sweet and salty.
Making this for church potluck next Sunday. Putting shopping list together now and checking pantry for what I already have. Can taste this already!
UPDATE: Turned out great! And already made it again!
Great salad. Will make it again and again. Full of flavours and very satisfying.