Chinese Chicken Salad
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Salad for dinner? Yes, please! Packed with crunchy veggies and tender chicken, this Chinese chicken salad is the light, feel-good meal you’ll crave all summer long.
Chinese chicken salad is a California-style dish that blends Chinese and American flavors in the best way. It may have peaked on restaurant menus in the ’90s, but to me, it’s just as crave-worthy today. Honestly, I could eat a salad like this every night of the summer—if I didn’t have other people to feed.
With crisp Napa cabbage, crunchy carrots and bell peppers, tender chicken, and a sesame-ginger dressing, it’s light, refreshing, and always hits the spot. I swap the usual fried wonton strips for toasted nuts to keep it a bit healthier, but if you love the crispy crunch of wontons, go ahead and add them in. And it’s super easy to throw together, especially if you’ve got leftover or rotisserie chicken on hand.
“Great salad—crunchy and flavorful, and very easy. I used some of the dressing to marinate pounded chicken breasts for a couple of hours then grilled them. Will definitely make again!”
What You’ll Need To Make Chinese Chicken Salad
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the dressing. In a food processor or blender, combine the rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, vegetable oil, garlic, and ginger. Blend until completely smooth.
Step 2: Assemble the salad: Combine the Napa cabbage, chopped romaine, bell pepper, scallions, grated carrots, fresh cilantro, salted cashews or peanuts, and shredded chicken. Add the dressing, little by little, and toss to combine, until the salad is dressed to your liking. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, serve, and enjoy!
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Ingredients
For the Dressing
- ⅓ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3½ tablespoons honey
- ¼ cup sesame oil
- ⅓ cup peanut or vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1½-inch square piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped (see note)
For the Salad
- 4 cups chopped Napa cabbage
- 4 cups chopped romaine (or substitute more Napa cabbage)
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
- ½ cup grated carrots, from 2 carrots
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ⅓ cup salted cashews or peanuts
- 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
Instructions
- Make the dressing: In a food processor or blender, combine all of the ingredients and blend until smooth.
- Assemble the salad: Combine all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing, little by little, and toss to combine, until the salad is dressed to your liking. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.
- Note: For easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger, click here.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 608
- Fat: 48 g
- Saturated fat: 9 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Sugar: 19 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 19 g
- Sodium: 989 mg
- Cholesterol: 53 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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I’m another fan. This salad is easy, inexpensive and just the thing for steamy summer days, also for feeding vegans/vegetarians, or just trying to use/eat a lot of vegetables. Last night I made it with lacinato kale, zucchini and snow peas added to the original ingredients. I wasn’t sure how cilantro would work with the kale, but it did. I always add a couple of finely chopped fresh red chiles because I like the kick. So good!
My husband’s favorite salad! Easy and quick to make (used a grocery store rotisserie chicken), incredibly flavorful (I could drink that dressing!), and a perfect meal for the middle of an Arizona summer.
We loved the salad and especially the dressing! It makes a lot and the leftovers were just as good! I did not add the dressing to the salad as I knew there would be leftovers. Very flavorful and easy to put together, this healthy salad is a great option. Thank you, Jenn!!
Making this now. I’d love to know in teaspoons/tablespoons, how much grated ginger to use.
Hi Nancy, The rule of thumb is 1-inch piece of fresh ginger (about the size of your thumb) yields roughly 1 tablespoon grated. (Keep in mind this can vary slightly depending on how thick the piece is and how finely you grate it.) So in this recipe, you’ll need approximately 1½ tablespoons of grated ginger. Hope you enjoy the salad!
REALLYYYYY FLIPPIN GOOD!! The flavor of the dressing is kind of a mix between a traditional hibachi place’s salad ginger dressing and ginger dipping sauce for your food. I could actually drink it! I used a Trader Joe’s shredded cabbage bag mixed with chopped romaine to make it easier but followed everything else to a T. Will definitely be making this one again!
This is the best Asian ginger sesame dressing I’ve ever had. I used fresh ginger that I keep in the freezer and just peel as needed.
This is the dressing you’ve had in restaurants and couldn’t figure out how to replicate before Jenn posted this recipe.
I had all of the ingredients on hand and it came together quickly in a mini blender. I had grilled chicken and romaine lettuce in the fridge so just shredded them and added thinly sliced English cucumber (didn’t have a red pepper) along with the shredded carrots.
This dressing is great on whatever salad you want to make. It also makes enough for a few future salads but is so tasty that it will be gone quickly.
This was sooo good!!! I really think I could drink the dressing! Next time I think I’ll toss in some egg rolls on the side for something extra. I thought it was perfect, but the teens just wanted a bit more.
LOVE this salad!