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.
Comments
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Delicious!! The dressing is so yummy and makes a ton!! Next time I will use the measurements as a guideline for the salad ingredients as there is plenty of salad dressing to be absorbed. I used about 2/3 of it. I added more chicken, cilantro and carrots. I may still add more peanuts. Easy and delicious!!
EXCELLENT! Waay better than what we’ve had at restaurants. My husband and I ate this delicious salad again the next day. This definitely is a keeper, perfect for lunch or dinner guests as well. Thank you again Jenn for another great recipe!
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I made this for a neighborhood pot luck and it disappeared. I made it again for friends and it is just amazing! I used rotisserie chicken and when I prepped all the other ingredients ahead – easy to throw together in minutes. Perfect! For my personal use I’’ll add more ginger because that’s just me.
A delicious way to serve up rotisserie chicken! On this hot sumner night (feels like 99*), it so refreshing. Just added some chow mein noodles for extra crunch. Every one of your recipes is a winner. Thanks for sharing.
I used turbinado surger instead of honey in the dressing. It was fantastic!! Thank you!!!
Hi Jenn!
Could you add noodles to this salad?? If so, what type and would I need to adjust the dressing amount?
Thanks so much!
Jennifer
Sure, soba noodles would work nicely here and you may need to add more dressing depending on the amount of noodles you go with. You could start with making 1.25 the amount of dressing. I’d love to hear how it turns out with noodles!
Great dressing. Loved it. My finicky husband also loved it.
Quite excellent for my wife who has a great taste palette, but is also (Fill in the blank)-intolerant with many foods. As a working professional who spent time waiting tables and eaten in some of the best restaurants, she claims that this dressing mix is THEE BEST she’s ever had.
I just mixed the ingredients: Kudos to the author!
Her sister and husband will be here tonight for dinner after a 10 hour drive and this is on the menu
Soy sauce is made with wheat. Wheat is cheaper to ferment.
Tamari is made from soy.
This was good!!! I needed a last minute recipe with items I already had on hand. No cabbage, but it was still great. And the dressing is really good. I did diced chicken instead of shredded, still good. Thanks! This is a keeper.
Thank you, Chef Jenn!
Wonderful recipe! Perfect balance of vegetables for salad. My husband and i had this for dinner tonight. I have always wanted this salad dressing recipe, too. Canola, avocado oil worked, but I’m looking forward to trying with peanut oil.