Chinese Chicken Salad Recipe (with the best dressing)
This Chinese chicken salad recipe combines crunchy vegetables, juicy, tender ginger chicken, and a homemade salad dressing that is out of this world.
Neither of us can stop thinking about this Chinese chicken salad recipe. Seriously, it’s that good. Every component is so well thought out. Toss a mountain of crunchy, colorful cabbage and carrots with our simple Asian chicken salad dressing that beats anything you can buy from the store.
Layer on the most tender, juicy, ginger poached chicken (so easy to make, by the way), and finish with extra crunch from chow mein noodles and our one-minute spicy peanut topping. For more incredible salads, see our Thai chicken salad or this Caprese chicken salad.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: We poach boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this Chinese chicken salad. The poaching liquid is so flavorful it might actually be our favorite part of the recipe below—it is a mix of chicken broth, water, ginger, green onions, garlic, and soy sauce. Because the broth is such a goldmine, we recommend poaching extra chicken to save for another day. (It turns out soft, juicy, and so tender just like our classic poached chicken recipe). And if you are short on time, feel free to skip the poached chicken this time and use rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken.
- Cabbage and Carrots: A 50/50 mix of shredded Napa and red cabbage gives the ultimate crunch and color, though you can easily use just one type. Carrots add extra sweetness and texture. We either grate them on a box grater or julienne them with a sharp knife or mandoline. (If you have leftover cabbage, try our napa cabbage salad or coleslaw recipe.)
- Cilantro and Green Onion: These fresh herbs are super aromatic and balance the gingery dressing. Plus, you will use part of the same bunch of green onions to flavor the poaching liquid for the chicken.
- Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing: This is a dressing you will want to save for other salads, too. You’ll quickly whisk together unsweetened rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, honey, Dijon mustard, fresh grated ginger, garlic, and a neutral oil like avocado oil. While it tastes fantastic right away, letting it sit for 10 to 15 minutes gives the ginger a moment to perfume the dressing.
- Spicy Peanuts: To double down on texture, we toss regular peanuts with a little chili crisp and honey. Chili crisp is easy to find in most grocery stores now, but if you do not have it on hand, a pinch of red pepper flakes or gochugaru works well instead.
- Chow Mein Noodles: These are the shelf-stable, ultra-crunchy noodles usually found in canisters in the international aisle (we used the La Choy brand in our photos). If you cannot find them, you can leave them out, or use crunchy wonton strips or crushed ramen noodles instead.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Chinese Chicken Salad
- Poach the chicken in the flavorful ginger broth until tender.
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a bowl until smooth.
- Toss the peanuts with chili crisp and honey until coated (so simple, but so good).
- Combine the cabbages, carrots, and herbs with most of the dressing.
- Slice the chicken, toss with the remaining dressing for more flavor, and layer on top of the salad.
- Finish this incredible Asian chicken salad with the spicy peanuts and chow mein noodles.
Our Secrets for the Best Chinese Chicken Salad
Tip 1: Use any chicken, but we love our poached ginger chicken. You can absolutely use pre-cooked shredded chicken, leftover chicken from roasting a chicken, or rotisserie chicken if you are short on time, but for the absolute best flavor, use our poaching method below. It takes about 20 minutes. Bring a flavorful, gingery broth to a simmer, drop in the chicken, and let it poach until cooked through. Not only is the chicken incredibly tasty, juicy, and perfect for this Asian chicken salad recipe, but the leftover broth in the pot is delicious as well.
Tip 2: If you do poach the chicken, poach extra chicken. We love this poaching liquid so much that we always add an extra chicken breast (or two). This leaves us with cooked chicken ready to use in other dishes, like creamy chicken salad, chicken vegetable soup, and our Thai chicken salad. If you have some cabbage leftover, mix it with the extra chicken and turn it into another salad, but try our carrot ginger dressing or this tahini dressing instead.
⭐️ Bonus! One more amazing thing about poaching (I know we are really pushing this one). The poaching liquid is absolutely delicious! Once you remove the chicken, we highly recommend straining it and saving for another day. It is great for soup or as a sipping broth.
Tip 3: Make our Chinese chicken salad dressing. Homemade salad dressings are almost always better, and this one is definitely in that category. Whisk in fresh ginger and garlic for a flavor that’s so much better than anything from a store-bought bottle.
Tip 4: Add crunch with spicy peanuts and noodles. The peanuts you see on this salad will make an appearance in future salad recipes (we love them so much). They take less than a minute to make and add so much crunch and flavor. We both think the crunchy noodles are 100% worth the buy for that extra crunchy goodness.
Our Favorite Variations
This salad is incredibly versatile. If you want to switch things up, skip the chicken and try one of these favorites instead:
Chinese Chicken Salad (with the best dressing)
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Our version of Chinese chicken salad has a mountain of crunchy, colorful cabbage, a bright ginger dressing, and sweet-and-spicy peanuts. Every single bite is packed with texture and so much flavor!
The ginger poached chicken recipe below is gold! We love it so much that we always poach extra chicken and save it for another day (it lasts up to 4 days). This is why you see a range of chicken in the ingredient list below. For 4 to 6 main meals, you will need 1 to 1 ½ pounds of chicken. The poaching liquid is enough for poaching up to 3 pounds. Once you’ve removed the cooked chicken from the liquid, strain it and save it. It’s absolutely delicious. If you want to use pre-cooked or leftover chicken, read the article above for our tips.
6 Servings
You Will Need
For the Poached Chicken
1 ½ to 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
4 cups (945 ml) chicken broth (try homemade chicken broth)
2 cups (475 ml) water
1 inch piece fresh ginger, cut into 6 rounds and lightly smashed
3 green onions, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
For the Dressing
⅓ cup (80 ml) rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 ½ tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons ginger, finely grated (from 2-inch piece)
1 small garlic clove, finely grated
½ cup (120 ml) avocado oil (or other neutral-flavored oil)
For the Spicy Peanuts
1 cup (140 g) peanuts
1 tablespoon chili crisp
2 teaspoons honey
For the Salad
4 cups Napa cabbage (about ½ medium head)
4 cups red cabbage (about ½ medium head)
3 green onions, thinly sliced
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup grated or julienned carrots (2 medium)
Chow mein noodles to garnish
Directions
- Poach the Chicken
1In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine the broth, water, ginger, green onions, garlic, soy sauce, salt, and pepper over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer.
2Add the chicken breasts once it’s simmering, then bring back to a gentle simmer. Reduce the heat to low, maintaining that gentle simmer, and cook until the chicken reaches 155°F, 13 to 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the chicken rest in the hot liquid for 10 minutes, until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Transfer the chicken to a plate, cover loosely with foil, and let cool. Be sure to strain and save the leftover poaching liquid—it is delicious!
- Make the Salad
1Whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, honey, mustard, ginger, and garlic to make the dressing. Slowly pour in the oil while whisking constantly until the dressing is smooth and emulsified.
2In a small bowl, toss the peanuts with the chili crisp and honey until evenly coated.
3In a large bowl, combine the Napa cabbage, red cabbage, carrots, green onion, and cilantro. Pour in three-quarters of the dressing and toss well to coat. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, then let the mixture sit for 5 to 10 minutes so the flavors can mingle and the cabbage softens slightly.
4Meanwhile, slice the poached chicken on a cutting board and toss with the remaining dressing.
5Toss the salad a few more times, then divide it among plates. Arrange the chicken slices neatly over the top, scatter the spicy peanuts over the chicken, and finish with a generous handful of crunchy chow mein noodles.
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
- Chili crisp: Store-bought chili crisp works perfectly for the peanuts. Brands vary in heat, so adjust the amount to suit your spice preference, or if you do not have any, swap it for a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- Look for crunchy chow mein noodles in the Asian foods aisle of your grocery store. If you can’t find them, leave them out, or try fried wonton strips or even crushed ramen noodles instead.
- The dressing, spicy peanuts, and chopped veggies can be prepped a day early and stored separately, so assembly takes just a few minutes at dinnertime.
- Store leftovers separately to keep everything fresh. Keep the poached chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Store the strained poaching liquid in a jar for up to 4 days (or freeze it for up to 3 months). The salad veggies will be crunchiest within 24 hours, but last in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- The nutrition facts provided are estimates. The calculations assumed 1 ½ pounds of chicken.
Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
1 of 6 servings (assumed 1 ½ pounds chicken total)
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Calories
555
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Total Fat
35g
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Saturated Fat
4.8g
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Cholesterol
82.7mg
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Sodium
820mg
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Carbohydrate
26.4g
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Dietary Fiber
5.1g
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Total Sugars
12.5g
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Protein
37.8g
We are Adam and Joanne Gallagher, the creators of Inspired Taste. Established in 2009, Inspired Taste grew from a childhood dream into one of the internet’s most trusted recipe sites with hundreds of reliable recipes, step-by-step videos, and expert tips.More About Us
