Chinese Chicken Salad
by Chungah
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
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 the busy week ahead.
What is a Chinese chicken salad?
This is a type of an 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!
This salad was by far one of the best salads I have ever tasted! It’s great, easy to make, and great for the entire family! Even my 3 year old loved it!! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it. How big are your chicken breasts? Around here they tend to be a pound a piece…or close. Do you think you used 2lbs of chicken? Thanks!
I recommend using closer to 1 lb, unless you like a lot of chicken in your salad! 🙂
A lot of us automatically switch to skinless tighs. Flavor x 10.
I always love your recipes! Always Damn Delicious!
Question, I don’t use fresh ginger enough to buy it, but I do have ground ginger. Can I use that instead of the fresh grated ginger in this recipe?
Thank you for always providing great recipes!
Yes, absolutely!
Tried your lettuce wrap. It was a hit. Thanks!
I don’t have oven at my place . Can I cook chicken in the pan. Also, do we get ready to eat crunchy noodles in market. Don’t I need to fry them?
Yes, feel free to cook the chicken to your desired preferences. Crunchy noodles should also be readily available at your local grocery store.
Totally craving this!! Looks perfect.
Girl!!! I am totally crushing on this salad! Pinned
You are so good Woman! This looks delicious. I like to have the girls over for lunch and this would be great.
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!