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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Hi… I want to make this next week, but I usually cook chicken breasts for 18-20 min at 400 degrees. Are you sure about that shorter cooking time? Thanks.
Karen, it really depends on how thick your chicken breasts are. I recommend using your best judgement to ensure that the chicken is completely cooked through before serving.
Beautiful looking salad. John, thank you for the MSG information.
I cannot wait to make this. Does it hold up well in the refrigerator? I am thinking as a Salad in a Jar?
The chow mein noodles…..do you buy them crispy, or bake them to get them that way?
your food all looks SCRUMPTIOUS!!!!!!!!!
thank you
Yes, the dressing holds up well refrigerated. And the chow mein noodles can be purchased crispy. I can find the “La Choy” brand at my local grocery store.
I just discovered your site about 2 weeks ago and your recipes are great. I have a few thoughts to think about. We totally eliminate MSG from our cooking. Soy Sauce has MSG naturally in it. We can’t eliminate soy sauce, but we look for a soy sauce that does not add extra MSG, like Kikoman. Natural MSG will not hurt you, but added MSG will. Natural MSG is found in many foods, even eggs, but it will not hurt you. Added MSG causes diabetes. I always read the label. Check the label for the sesame oil also. Some companies add MSG. A healthier diet would include MSG free ingredients. Edamame beans are not available in Cebu, Philippines, maybe in Manila, so I would substitute mature soy beans. We also eliminate simple sugar as much as possible. One tbsp of sugar will not hurt you, but if you drink 16 oz of coke with the meal, it will. Would it be possible to substitute lime juice or lemon juice for the simple sugar? A sugar free diet is a healthier diet. Thanks for the great recipes.
As you had said, 1 TBSP sugar will not kill you. You can definitely reduce it to 1-2 tsp if you’d like. A little bit of sugar goes a long way here! Now you can certainly try substituting lemon/lime juice but I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish.
I tblsp of sugar could kill you if you’re a diabetic like I am or have some other related health condition. I would eliminate the sugar and use either stevia or Splenda in place of it. I think the dressing is also too high in sodium. I would use Kikkoman’s low sodium soy sauce and use very little.
What drew me to this salad was the crunchy noodles. Love anything crunchy on my salad, croutons, crunchy wonton strips, crunchy noodles!
I hate ordering salads at restaurants too… seems like I’m not fully testing a restaurant’s cooking ability.
I love mixing up the flavors of my salads at home, and this sounds REALLY good!
My absolute favorite salad, love this healthy version!
This looks amazing. I love easy, healthy options.
Looks and sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe! 😀
Another nice recipe. Thank you.
Another wonderful recipe of your’s I need to make 🙂
I so love reading your recipes. They always look so simple, fresh and delicious.
Is ti totally weird that I have NEVER had a Chinese Chicken Salad? You can say yes.
How-ev-er, I always see them at restaurants and feel like I should try one…but now I can make it healthier and at home! YES! Pinned 🙂
Nor have I, Taylor, but I’ve printed this recipe and very soon I won’t be able to say it anymore!
I just made this salad tonight and it is so great!!!! I would recommend with 5 stars
This looks great and I love the colours!
Mmm I love sesame oil, and I bet you’ve taken it to New heights in that dressing, it looks fantastic, I love the colours – hurrah for Balance, and amazing recipes, thanks! 😀 x
This looks like an amazing salad and I can almost taste the vinaigrette from here and I want it!!
I want this salad right now! Seriously looks so good!
yes you are right