The hero of this Chinese Chicken Salad is the Asian Dressing and crunchy noodles. It can make any bowl of fresh greens devilishly moreish! Made with cabbage, carrots, green onions and chicken, finished with sesame seeds, this is terrific for packed lunches as it keeps well for days!
CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD – MY MOST MADE ASIAN SALAD!
This is my most made faux Asian salad. It’s “faux” because it’s in no way authentic Chinese and that’s totally ok.
I love it anyway because it’s so delish, and it’s a good way to make me inhale large volumes of fresh greens.
THE ASIAN SALAD DRESSING
The Asian salad dressing I use in this salad is based on a recipe by David Chang of Momofuku. It’s made with all manner of Asiany ingredients – soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic and ginger – but there’s plenty of flex here which I’ve jotted down in the recipe notes.
I love the fresh hit of ginger and garlic in the dressing but I quite often make this salad using my standby simple Asian Sesame Dressing. Made with just soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, oil and sugar, it keeps for days, weeks even. It would be unusual if I didn’t have a jar of this lurking in the dark depths of my fridge at all times!
I think the thing that really seals the deal for me about this Chinese Chicken Salad are the crunchy noodles. I just use Chang’s Fried Noodles which are often on sale at the supermarket for around $1. Any brand will do – the thin ones I’ve used or even the wider ones. Just as long as they’re crunchy!! – Nagi x
PS This is a terrific do-ahead meal. The chopped veggies stay fresh for days in the fridge – I’ve kept them for 5 days in an airtight container – and shredded chicken can be frozen. The only thing to add fresh is the ginger and garlic in the dressing.
MORE ASIAN SALADS
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Chinese Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Asian Dressing
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce (Note 1)
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar (aka rice wine vinegar, or use cider vinegar)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil (toasted)
- 2 tbsp grapeseed oil (or canola or any other neutral flavored oil)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger , grated or very finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Salad
- 4 cups Chinese cabbage (Nappa Cabbage), finely shredded (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 cups red cabbage , finely shredded
- 1 cup carrot , finely julienned (see video)
- 2 cups chicken , shredded
- 1/2 cup shallots / scallions , finely sliced on the diagonal
Garnishes
- 1/2 to 1 cup crunchy noodles (I use Chang’s) (Note 3)
- 1 – 2 tsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Combine the Dressing ingredients in a jar and shake. Set aside for 10 minutes or so for the flavours to meld.
- Place the Salad ingredients together in a large bowl along with half the crunchy noodles. Drizzle over dressing then toss. (Note 4)
- Divide between serving bowls. Top with more crunchy noodles and a good sprinkle of sesame seeds. Serve immediately!
Recipe Notes:
Originally published June 2015, updated with new photos and video. No change to recipe.Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
He wasn’t bothered by the burs. Unlike me. Prickly legs!!!
The one whose “diet starts next week” is moi, moi, moi!!!! This salad looks made just for me.. Love the pix in action.. superb
You make me laugh!! We’re two peas in a pod 🙂
haha.. imagine the plight of the pod with such peas inside.. it would open up sooner than it should and tranfer us to iPod.. 😀
He he!! 😉
What a beautiful (and I bet delicious) salad! It’s so colorful and I love the rustic photography setting. The dressing ingredient list is so simple, but I assume perfectly balanced with just the right amounts. Sometimes those are the best recipes.
Thanks Matt!! Well, I borrowed a recipe from David Chang for the dressing and let me tell you, he is the MASTER of simple but fantastic! 🙂
I do order Chinese chicken salad once in a while…but never made it myself…and like you I will never be content with only salad as a meal…but this one loaded with chicken really looks awesome.
Thanks for sharing the recipe Nagi…have a wonderful week ahead 🙂
Thanks Juliana! Hope you have a lovely week too! 🙂
I want to eat salad more than I actually do. It’s one of those things that is a bit time consuming, especially if I’m not using the pre-packaged greens. There’s just too much washing, scrubbing, drying, cutting to do…before I even get to the main course. So I like salads that are substantial, that are a complete meal. This Chinese Chicken Salad looks fantastic and fits the bill perfectly!
Thanks Thao! I’m on the same page re: effort as a SIDE!! This one’s pretty quick actually 🙂 Shredding cabbage doesn’t actually take that long! N x
P.S.: And Dozer is sooooo cute!
Oh – you just made my day even BETTER!! 🙂 N x
Love it, we are on EXACTLY the same wavelength when it comes to salads. 🙂 The photography in this post is fantastic, I LOVE the motion blur, it’s perfect.
You just made my day. 🙂 Thanks Nic!!
Now thats a salad my boys would go crazy for! I love salads with interesting texture and love the extra crunch of the nuts and crispy noodles in this recipe. Awesome pour shot! Awesome toss shot! Now on to your little pooch under the table… he is adorable and I hope just one day a little something falls his way. Dozer deserves it! Pinning and sharing, of course! Take Care
You know the part about your message that made me smile right? Not the photos not the food…Dozer… 🙂 N x
gorgeous as always, Nagi!!!! and I beg to differ! I can eat salads all day, every meal, until the cows come home. . ok, gotta try this Vinaigrette!!!! this salad is beyond beautiful!
Seriously??!! No wonder you look so fit and healthy!! 🙂 I do like salads, just have a HIGH standard!! 🙂
I was thinking that is a pretty delicious salad – another winner – then I saw your adorable dog and all else left my mind – oh those big brown eyes and that expression that says ‘I want some too Mum!’ Know it only too well from our little boy:-)
Does your dog eat tomatoes too? Dozer looks like that whether he’s begging for chicken or cherry tomatoes. Seriously! 🙂
Looks seriously delish Nagi! Just like the big juicy salads you can find in the USA! Yum!
Thanks Jessica!! 🙂 N x
This looks like crunchy salad perfection! I used to eat salads for lunch almost every day (yay food I can cook in the AM in 2 minutes!), but mine were pretty boring (usually just loads of spinach and a few croutons here and there). I eventually stopped eating salads because I got tired of eating the same salad every day. THIS looks like the salad to get me back into the salad-eating-lunch habit again. I love salads with a good crunch and delicious vinaigrette. Can’t wait to try this – will let you know how it goes!
PS Dozer looks SUPER cute. He must be drooling while you do your food photos!
Thanks Sarah! Hope you do give it a go, I think it’s super delish! PS Thanks for the tip re: chipotle on my avocado egg toast!!
Gorgeous delicious salad. I could live on this alone. How adorable is Dozer!
Thanks so much Tania!! I know….I reckon Dozer is pretty cute too…. 😉
YUM, YUM, YUM, YUM!!!!!!! Just looking at the picture of this makes me want to crawl through my computer screen into the salad bowl! I will be making this the next time I go grocery shopping – I can’t not make it. This is one of those dishes I’ve always wanted a good recipe for. Thank you for posting it.
Ooh, so happy you like the look of this!! LOVE to know what you think! And Susan, honestly, if there is ANYTHING you want a recipe for, just shoot me an email or leave a blog comment somewhere!! We have such similar tastes, I probably have a recipe and might even share it on my blog!! 🙂
This turned out wonderful. As expected. 🙂 That dressing is exactly what I’ve been wanting. And my husband like the salad, too (he actually commented to me that it was good – I didn’t have to ask). I made enough to feed 4 so we’ll see how it marinates over the next couple of days. Thank you again for posting this.
Hi Susan! I’m thrilled that you enjoyed it! The dressing is wonderful, isn’t it? David Chang. He’s AWESOME!!
I personally found that I didn’t enjoy leftovers nearly as much. The dressing in this has too much oil in it to use as a marinade. But still very edible! Oh, the other thing I didn’t like about leftovers were that the noodles got soggy! 🙁
Thank you for coming back to let me know you loved it! N x
Nagi, I let this salad sit in the fridge for a couple of days before eating the leftovers. Because I just sprinkled the noodles and nuts on after serving, it was just fine. In the future I would probably make the salad up a couple of hour before eating so the flavors can sink in.
Nagi, my solution to the soggy noodles is that I didn’t mix them in, just scattered them on top of the servings we ate today. Ditto for the peanuts. Actually, it never occurred to me to mix them in, perhaps because they are listed as garnishes? I figured that the dressing would infiltrate the veggies and give the leftovers more flavor.
I LOVE the picture of Dozer under the table – such a good boy. Arlo hovers when I photograph as well, except he’s usually plopping his nose up on the table 😛
I’m actually a big fan of salads and this one looks phenomenal! I think salads need bold flavors and crunch – this definitely has both! Pinning, yumming, and making for sure!
I remember that photo of Arlo with his nose inching towards the food!! It was SO cute!!! N x
Woohoo! I have every single thing to make this in my refrigerator. I’m SO making this for dinner tonight. p.s. I have a crush on your dog.
I knew I liked you for a reason….good taste in food, good taste in dogs….. 😉
I love me a good Chinese salad!!! And is that GLOBAL knives I see? DO we use the same knives 🙂 He has some fantastic recipes in this book doesn’t he? I want to try that crack pie so bad…but I can never get the time to do this!!
Oh and your doggie is soo sweet!
YES!! I’m obsessed with my new knives – Global Sai and Global Ni! I have the normal ones too, but the Global Sai is LEGENDARY. It is seriously like cutting butter!! 🙂
Thank you Nagi…you just gave my bank account a new reason to be zeroed out 🙂
Nagi – Dozer is gorgeous! Has he ever jumped up on the table and sneaked a mouthful or two of what you prepare – when you are not looking? One time, my older dog ate a whole plateful of peanut-rice krispie bites I had made when I left the plate unattended and went to melt some chocolate!
Btw – I have only one word for this salad – and that’s YUM!
Ha ha!! I can just imagine it!! Hard to believe but Dozer has never ever stolen anything off a table. 🙂 Or maybe he has and I didn’t realise!! Na, he’s not that smart!!
I love salads as a main course every now and again, but I must admit I do tend to add that big hunk of bread on the side! I’m intrigued by the crispy noodle idea in this … and that ‘famous’ dressing!
As for Dozer … awwwww, come on, give him just a teensy weensy bit of chicken! I just couldn’t resist …
He gets enough treats!! He doesn’t get MY food too!! 😉
Indeed, a special salad of its own. Tasty and festive looking!! Thanks for sharing!!
Julie & Alesah
Gourmet Getaways xx
Thanks girls!! 🙂 N x
Anything with those crunchy noodles, you can count me in! Those things are addictive. I too have difficulty having salads for dinner without supplementing them with other things, so I’m looking forward to trying this! I also had no idea fortune cookies were invented in America…sort of like German chocolate cake too! Bubble = burst.
You know, I could honestly munch on a packet of those crunchy noodles like chips. SO bad! 🙂 (Don’t tell me German chocolate cake isn’t GERMAN…..!!! And Santa is real, right?)