Chinese Chicken Salad at Home

Chinese Chicken Salad is a healthy regular at our house. Made of thinly shredded Napa and purple cabbage, shredded carrot, green onion and shredded cooked chicken tossed in a well-seasoned ginger dressing. Serve topped with crunchy noodles and toasted sesame seeds. Recipe will serve 4.

My fullness gauge doesn’t work when I have this salad.

You know when something is so flavor-packed, you don’t know when to stop because being full isn’t registering? A similar thing happens also with pizza and cookies.

If you’ve never had Chinese Chicken Salad, let me introduce you. This salad isn’t authentically Chinese, more American take using asian flavors and ingredients. And it’s standout! This salad is loaded with vegetables and tossed in a light ginger and sesame dressing. And I think we all can agree the go-to part is the crunchy noodles.

And if stored properly (instructions are at the end of the post), could make for a great meal prep of lunches (or dinners) for the week.

For this Chinese Chicken Salad Gather:

for the salad:

• napa cabbage
• purple cabbage
• carrot
• green onion
• cooked shredded chicken
• asian ginger dressing
• crunchy noodles (like La Choy)
• toasted sesame seeds

for the asian ginger dressing:

• grated fresh ginger
• grated fresh garlic
• rice vinegar
• light soy sauce
• extra light olive oil
• toasted sesame oil (regular sesame oil is not recommended)
• sugar
• black pepper

Before prepping the salad, make the dressing. I do this so it gives the flavors of the dressing a chance to mix and meld.

In a glass jar, measure and add; 2 generous teaspoons grated fresh ginger, 1 large clove grated fresh garlic, 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil, 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, 1-1/4 teaspoon sugar and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper.

Secure the lid and shake well to combine. Set off to the side while you prep and make the salad.

In a large bowl add 4 to 5 (generous) cups of thinly shredded Napa cabbage, 2 (generous) cups thinly shredded purple cabbage, 1 cup shredded or julienned carrots and 4 to 6 green onions that have been thinly sliced, plus more for garnish. Lastly add in 2 cups cooked shredded chicken.

• Leftovers from roasted, slow cooked or store-bought rotisserie will work well here!
• In a pinch, grill up chicken breasts or thighs.

Pour in all of the Asian ginger dressing.

Toss well to combine. After a few tosses, you should notice that the dressing will have ever so slightly soften the vegetables. So while it looks like a lot at first, this salad will only feed 4 if served as main entrees.

Transfer to a serving bowl (or individual bowls) and top with 3/4 cup crunchy noodles, 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds and extra green onion.

I like to serve this salad with extra crunchy noodles, toasted sesame seeds and green onion on the side.

• Keep dressing, chicken and garnishes (noodles and toasted sesame seeds) separate and toss before serving.
• You can make the dressing up to 3 days ahead of time. Keep stored in air-tight container and refrigerated.
• Veggies can be combined and stored in the fridge for 5 to 7 days.
• Chicken is good (refrigerated) up to 4 days.

Enjoy! And if you give this Chinese Chicken Salad recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!

Respectfully (and only slightly) adapted from Recipe Tin Eats.