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-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
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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Another lovely Asian salad to have on a hot summer day. I substituted rotisserie chicken and added peanuts. A big hit with my husband.
Forgot to mention I didn’t add the honey as I am on a keto diet. Didn’t affect the taste at all
The salad dressing was delicious and will be my new go to dressing for all Asian salads. I didnt follow the chicken recipe as I had lots of vegetables in my garden that i needed to use so i stir fried instead
Made this salad for my husband who is not especially enthusiastic about a salad for dinner. This was delicious and he loved it! It has great texture, lots of crunch and flavor and satisfied even his “manly” appetite. It takes a few minutes to prep the veggies, but it’s well worth it. I made extra salad veggies and refrigerated them separately without the chicken meat so I could use them for another meal. If you are going to do the chopping, why not get two meals out of it, right! Thanks, Jenn! Another “go to” on my list!
exactly my same sentiments. hubby also doesn’t care much for salad dinners…but he liked this one. The sauce was not to sweet but just right with roasted sesame oil. I sautéed sliced chicken breasts because I cannot buy ones with skins; instead of the romaine, I finely sliced white cabbage, a carrot, red bell pepper, mini cucumbers and sweet onion which gives a nice crunch with the thinly sliced raw vegetables and peanuts. This recipe is definitely one to share with friends and keep in the recipe box. Thank you Jenn.
Appallingly sweet! …and I only used 3 T honey. Next time I would up the amount of sesame oil, perhaps by 2 times and use ½ to 1 T of honey.
How many cups of romaine/cabbage is the equivalent of four romaine lettuce hearts, chopped?
Good question Jackie! I haven’t made this in so long, but I think it may be about 10 to 12 cups of chopped romaine.
Hi – If I only have boneless/skinless chicken breasts would you recommend the oven (would the cook time be different than the skin on/bone in?) or the grill? Thanks!
I’d pound and grill them after seasoning them with a little salt and pepper. Hope that helps!
YUM! Snuck a couple bites while making a double recipe for a potluck this evening. Here’s the wonderful thing: I hadn’t yet tried it myself but I know using any of Jenn’s recipes will always land a hit.
I’m thinking shrimp or using a precooked chicken shredded will easily work here too. Or adding mandarin oranges to the side along with those wonton fried strips for those that love them. So good, can’t wait to eat a giant bowl tonight!
I love this salad dressing! I make it frequently and just use it on my every day normal salads and it makes them all so good! Thank you for this salad dressing recipe, its so easy and contains clean ingredients!
Delicious, Definitely a keeper. Will make again!