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 kind of 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 I think it’s just as good today.
With crisp Napa cabbage, crunchy carrots and bell peppers, tender chicken, and a sesame-ginger dressing, it’s fresh, colorful, and satisfying enough to be dinner. I swap the usual fried wonton strips for toasted nuts to keep it a bit lighter, but if you love the crispy crunch of wontons, go ahead and add them. It’s easy to throw together, especially if you’ve got leftover or rotisserie chicken on hand.
“We loved the salad and especially the dressing! It makes a lot and the leftovers were just as good!”
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.
Step 3: Serve. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, serve, and enjoy!
More Asian-Style Salads You’ll Love
Chinese Chicken Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- ⅓ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3½ tablespoons honey
- ¼ cup sesame oil (see note)
- ⅓ cup peanut or vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1½-in 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.
Notes
- Look for toasted (Asian) sesame oil, which is dark in color and nutty in flavor, not the light, untoasted variety.
- Check out easy guidance for how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger.
Nutrition Information
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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Could I assemble this salad a day ahead and then dress it just before serving?
Hi Lisa, I wouldn’t assemble the salad ahead, but you can prep all the veggies and store them separately. You can also make the dressing ahead if you’d like.
This salad caught my eye since I had all the ingredients from my local CSA farm share, which made this salad extra special and yummy. Everyone throughly enjoyed the new recipe and I have to be gluten free so just swapped out the soy sauce for tamari. Loved how there was plenty of dressing for leftovers. I just mixed up everyone’s portion in a bigger bowl, adding some dressing, sprinkled in some sesame seeds, and then tossed and placed in individual bowls. Made some black raspberry muffins to accompany the salad and it was a perfect meal. Especially for a hot evening. Thank you for a great recipe!
Our family has enjoyed this salad many times! It is so delicious and easy to prepare. The dressing really makes it. I have added and changed the salad ingredients and it always tastes amazing.
Last night, I marinated some skinless boneless chicken thighs in a mixture of soy sauce, some honey, minced garlic and fresh ginger. Then after baking the chicken, shredded it over the salad. Really delicious!
Thanks for your inspiring recipes!!
One word – FANTASTIC! Enough said…
Unable to read the recipe for the dressing. An Oil Of Olay commercail add took the whole screen with no visible way to remove it????
Hi Jim, that’s so strange! Hoping that’s just a glitch – can you give it another try? Also, was your screen in full screen mode? You could also try opening the recipe using a different browser – that often resolves those odd glitches.
Regular or toasted sesame oil?
Toasted. 😊
Hi Jen
Can I use olive oil instead of the vegetable oil? What would the difference be?
Thank you
Hi Nancy, I opt for a vegetable oil in this recipe because it’s more neutral in flavor, but olive oil will work. Enjoy!
Why do you add honey and sugar?
You apparently add sugar to everything.
What a pity! You have great media and many good ideas.
Please consider dishes without sugar at least occasionally.
Hey Jen,
I love your recipes!! I have a dumb question. Is sesame oil the same as toasted sesame oil ?
Thanks
Not a dumb question at all! They are different, and you’ll want to use toasted sesame oil here. Enjoy!
Your recipes are always a winner. There is one small addition to the otherwise perfect salad and that is fun see noodles. These are the cellophane noodles dropped into hot frying oil and they explode into crispy puffed white noodles immediately. Remove them with a spider, drain them and lay them on the bottom of the salad bowl. Scoop some with each serving. They are pretty and add a nice crunch. Without them the salad is still perfect.