Chinese Chicken Salad
by Chungah
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Crunchy Chinese chicken salad! With leftover rotisserie chicken, romaine, napa, crispy wonton strips and a homemade sesame ginger dressing!
Featured Comment
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.
Why you’ll love this Chinese chicken salad
- Restaurant-quality salad. This homemade version allows you to control all of the ingredients, avoiding excess salt, sugar, and preservatives (particularly in the dressing!).
- Pairs well with everything. This is just one of those salads that pairs beautifully with so many main dishes. It’s light, crunchy, and packed with sweet and savory flavors all around.
- Budget-friendly. Ordering out can get so costly but a homemade batch uses affordable ingredients and staples, and even allows you to repurpose leftover rotisserie chicken!
- Can be made ahead of time. This keeps prep time to a minimum, making weeknight dinners feel so effortless during busy work and school days.
What is a Chinese chicken salad?
This is a type of American-Chinese fusion salad typically made with shredded chicken, cabbage, and carrots, topped with a crunchy ingredient (ex. fried noodles or almonds) and tossed in a sesame-ginger dressing.
Key ingredients
- Base: romaine lettuce and napa cabbage
- Protein: shredded chicken, such as leftover rotisserie chicken
- Vegetables: cilantro and green onions; carrots, bell peppers, and snow peas can also be added
- Citrus: mandarin oranges
- Crunch: cashews, wonton strips (homemade or store-bought); sliced almonds or crispy chow mein noodles can be substituted
- Dressing: homemade sesame-ginger dressing (recipe below)
How to make chinese chicken salad
- Make the dressing. Whisk the rice vinegar, orange marmalade, canola oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, and sesame seeds until well combined.
- Combine the salad ingredients. Add the romaine lettuce, cabbage, chicken, mandarin oranges, cilantro, cashews, and green onions in a large shallow bowl.
- Dress and toss. Add the sesame-ginger dressing in stages, tossing until evenly coated.
- Add crunch. Top with wonton strips and sesame seeds just before serving.
what to serve with chinese chicken salad
- Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
- Quick Ramen Noodle Stir Fry
- Vegetable Potstickers
- Easy Hot and Sour Soup
- Sesame Chicken Kabobs
Tools For This Recipe
Salad spinner
Chinese Chicken Salad: Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have a recipe for rotisserie chicken?
Yes, I love this Instant Pot rotisserie chicken recipe! It’s so easy and so flavorful, and makes for great salads.
Can I substitute a different protein?
Yes! You can substitute pan-fried or baked tofu, shrimp, or salmon.
Can I add additional vegetables?
Carrots, bell peppers, and snow peas are all excellent additions.
How can I make homemade wonton strips?
These crispy wonton strips are very easy to make with only 2 ingredients!
Can you make this salad ahead of time?
Absolutely! The dressing can be stored in the fridge, and everything else can be prepped and chopped, 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 until evenly coated.
Chinese Chicken Salad
Crunchy Chinese chicken salad! With leftover rotisserie chicken, romaine, napa, crispy wonton strips and a homemade sesame ginger dressing!
Video
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.
Equipment
Notes
- 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.
- Dry the greens thoroughly. Wash and dry the greens thoroughly using a salad spinner to avoid the dressing from sliding off or causing the greens to go limp and soggy very quickly.
- 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, hearty salad.
- Mix it up. Use a different kind of protein, swap the cashews for sliced almonds, or use scallions in place of cilantro.
- Toss the dressing just before serving. This will avoid a soggy salad and allow for maximum, crisp freshness.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
I love this dressing! I used to make this salad using the seasoning packet from Ramen noodles. Tasty but so bad for you. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to make a dressing with the same flavor punch, but this really delivered. I did my own thing for the salad, and followed the dressing directions as written except for adding a little dash of white pepper.
Thanks for sharing this!
it looks really good def gonna try it
This is an excellent recipe that I’ve made many times. The fact you cook the chicken in the oven means you can do your chopping & prep work simultaneously.
Recommend no changes. 5/5
Great, thank you Jennifer!
This was delicious!! I made a couple of changes based on my taste. I added a little sriracha to the chicken marinade to make it a little spicy, a tiny bit of grated ginger, and a touch of honey. I cooked the chicken in a cast iron skillet on the stovetop to make it caramelized and yummy. I will definitely be making this again!!
Is there a difference between rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar ? I am only seeing rice vinegar at the supermarket. Can you tell me which brand you use? Thank you!
You can certainly use rice vinegar here. But I do not have a particular brand that I prefer. Hope that helps!
This recipe looks amazing! I’m printing it out today to try very soon. To the person who doesn’t use ginger enough, you can wrap it well and freeze it for future use – don’t even thaw before using, then re-wrap it and return it to the freezer’
Thank you for this tip. I did not have the issue but I have thrown away so much ginger that I am delighted with your comment! I learned something super awesome today. Thank you again!
I love this tangy concoction you have put together! I never would have thought of it! Seriously one of my favorites!
Where to buy the crispy noodle?
Most grocery stores should carry them by the produce aisle.
Asian section in market
Get extra from last take out, but use quickly!
I don’t trust the cooking time. Ours was totally raw.
WOW! Sorry but can’t you figure out how to test your chicken! How long have you been cooking!!
Didn’t have rice wine vinegar, subbed in 1/4 c + 1tbsp rice vinegar and 1tbsp white wine vinegar. Wok fried thighs(didn’t have breasts) in the marinade with a splash of ponzu and garlic powder to finish. A little fresh diced mango in the salad mix. I don’t think I’ve ever altered a recipe so little. Flavors as it was written were bright and balanced, very subtle layering. Definitely going on my GOTTA DO THIS AGAIN!! list
Wonder how a Thai chili would work somewhere in the mix?
For the dressing, the first item is “1/4 cup”….. cup of what?
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar.
What does 1/4 cup PLUS mean?
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar.
We made the taco lettuce wraps last night, and last week the Mexican quinoa, and the pork chops with sweet and sour glaze. They were all amazing (especially the quinoa and pork chops). I love how you use fresh ingredients in every recipe, and cant wait to make them all! Tonight I am making the Chinese Chicken Salad, and am at work counting down the minutes to go home and start dinner!
Made this salad last night on 2-1-16, and it was fabulous but I couldn’t find the shelled edamame’s at our local store here. But if I had added shelled edamame it would have been great too! I will make this salad again, I really liked the crunch from the Chow Mein Noodles and the Almonds. I served this salad with some Asian potstickers and had some Litehouse toasted sesame ginger dressing & Litehouse mild Thai peanut dressings for dipping or adding extra to the salad also. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us. ❤️
I couldn’t find shelled edamame either, so I bought the frozen steam in a bag edamame. I figured I can just let them cool and pop them out of their shells into the salad! Might be more work, but I love edamame.
Fresh Shelled edamame at Trader Joes
Great recipe! I have made it several times and it always tastes great! I love all the colors and the vinaigrette is great!
I love the photos and description for this recipe and I really want to try it, however, I think what is missing is some reviews… Hardly anyone who commented here actually tried out your recipe. Would like to know if anyone enjoyed the taste before I try it myself?
It’s the best! Simply fantastic! I am making it right now for the second time. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did….
I love your recipes so far all I’ve tried have been very tasty! Thank you so much for all these yummy recipes you have shared. I am making this one tonight and rather than making the chicken in the oven, I have used my small pampered chef stone in the microwave. I happened to be doing 4 chicken breast and the cooking time on it was 15 minutes. I chose to do it this way so I would not heat up my house…
Made this lovely salad last night using store bought rotisserie chicken. I subbed a few ingredients because I did not have…
so, green chickpeas instead of edamame, added sweet pepper rings, thicker cucumber slices. we use BRAGGS soya so no fear of added MSG.
This was a hit, I made a double batch with the intention of sending the salad for lunches but there was nothing left! Did I mention there are only three of us and one is a 6 year old. May use apple cider vinegar next go around, and there will be a next go around! Thanks.
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Love all of your recipes. Thank you! It would really be great if you could offer the option of not printing the photo with the recipe. This would use less ink and less space, many times being able to print the recipe on one page, which would be ideal.
Marge, if you prefer not to print the photo, you can copy and paste the recipe into a text document and print from there. Easy peasy!
Re: Karen’s question about cooking temp.of chicken breasts….
No matter which way you decide to cook them, invest in a digital instant read thermometer.
They are not that expensive. Insert the probe into the THICKEST part of the meat halfway into the chicken breast.
The temperature should read a minimum of 160 degrees….
Don’t mess with this….Undercooked chicken can make you sick….