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Claudia's Table

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As seen on Instagram Dressings and Sauces Gluten Sensitive Low Carb Recipe Index Salads and Sides

Classic Chinese Chicken Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing

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One of my all time favorite salads is the Classic Chinese Chicken Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing. Just about every restaurant that you go to in Los Angeles and West, has their own delicious version. I never tire of it. One of the most famous of these salads as of late, is the HealthNut Chinese Chicken Salad made famous by the Kardashians. Almost every episode feature the sisters munching on these salads in giant plastic bowls. The salad is a simple mix of ingredients but the claim to fame here is The Sesame Dressing. This is my favorite combo for the Classic Chinese Chicken Salad, with a few more vegetables and my own flavor loaded Creamy Sesame Dressing.

classic   chinese chicken salad in black bowl

I make two versions of this here at home, this one and another I will post at a later day with a vinaigrette type dressing. This is the one I’m crushing on lately.

The origins of the Classic Chinese Chicken Salad

The Chinese Chicken Salad is definitely a Far East inspired, California love child. This salad, as I’m sure you know, is not an authentic Chinese dish but something perhaps something made on the fly to possibly suit a guest (like Cary Grant) or use up extra ingredients that may have had a short life. I don’t know if we will ever definitively know, but there are several who take credit for creating the first Chinese Chicken Salad, so its origin is up for real debate. From what I found in my research, it is seen on menu’s around the 1950’s. But one thing seems certain, its birthplace appears to be right here in California.

Madame Wu of the iconic Santa Monica restaurant, Madame Wu’s Garden is one to claim to have created this salad. Madame Sylvia Wu and her husband opened their restaurant in 1959. It became a hotspot for celebrities, politicians, studio executives and quickly became renown around the world. According the the Hollywood Reporter, in an article written depicting “Hollywood’s 5 Favorite Salads: In a city where green equals lean, these five salads have claimed the title as the restaurant world’s most iconic — and most imitated.” There is no surprise here that the Chinese Chicken Salad makes the cut. So where exactly does the Chinese Chicken Salad come into the scene at Madame Wu’s? It appears around 1960’s and she claimed she made the dish for Cary Grant after he asked her to recreate a similar dish that he had elsewhere; a salad of chicken and noodles. She obliged by creating her rendition for him and the rest is history. Her recipe seems to be the foundation on which all modern day Chinese Chicken Salads are inspired by. The distinctive dressing includes hot mustard and five spice. And not to mention that her chicken is poached and then fried…pretty genius and delicious.

Others that claim the creation of this famed salad are none other than Owner and Chef of The Mandarin, a legendary upscale restaurant in San Francisco. The late Cecilia Chiang credited herself with creating this salad to use extra iceberg lettuce. In her memoir/cookbook, The Seventh Daughter: My Culinary Journey from Beijing to San Francisco, she describes the beginning of her recipe, “Truly, there is no ‘real’ Chinese chicken salad…In China, lettuce was imported and rare and salads were things that were pickled.” From there, she claimed the salad became popular among those clients watching their waistlines as lettuce was a fit friendly dish. Little known fact, her son Philip Chiang is none other than the co-owner of P.F. Changs. If you ever have time, check out the documentary, Soul of a Banquet, made about her, it’s an incredible glimpse of her life and career.

Yet other sources credit Chef Lee of the New Moon restaurant in Los Angeles of having served this salad early on. He is attributed with having it on his menu from the 1950’s all though I’ve had a hard time verifying this as well as trying to get the general recipe itself. One thing we can agree on, is that the Classic Chinese Chicken Salad has become a very popular salad choice and uniquely Californian like the Cobb Salad and the Chopped Salad (another favorite of mine).

Let’s make Chinese Chicken Salad

So let’s make it! I start by layering all the ingredients, adding the noodles and ginger last. This will prevent from the noodles possibly getting soft and the pickled ginger wilting the greens.

If you meal plan, this salad is great! You just need to add the noodles and ginger with the dressing at the time you serve it.

  • Fresh bed of lettuce
  • lettuce and carrots in black bowl
    Layer on fresh grated carrots
  • Layer in cucumber
  • then shredded chicken
  • then chow mein noodles or wonton noodles
  • now for pickled ginger
dressing poured onto the classic chinese chicken salad

How to create your own version

There are so many variations of this salad out there! Too many to count so I thought I would provide some ideas on how to customize the salad.

  • For your greens: iceberg, romaine, cabbage, Bok choy, and Napa cabbage all work well. For the cabbages, I would recommend very thinly sliced.
  • Complimentary add on’s would be edamame, water chestnuts, baby corn, scallions, fresh ginger, pickled onions, daikon radish, red bell pepper, bamboo shoots, green beans, broccoli, peas and snow pea pods.
  • For protein I prefer chicken or shrimp as they tend to work well with the flavors above. Marinated, cooked and thinly sliced sirloin steak would work as well.
  • For some crunch, chopped almonds, peanuts, crispy won ton noodles, rice noodles, and my favorite, simple crispy chow Mein noodles.
  • On top of all this goodness, you can mix some of these ingredients with cooked rice noodles, vermicelli or linguine noodles.

The options are limitless. If you prefer, you can always use ready made salad dressing. I, of course, am completely partial to my Creamy Sesame Dressing.

All content and photographs ©Claudia’s Table and claudiastable.com

dressing poured onto chinese chicken salad

Classic Chinese Chicken Salad

Ana@Claudia’s Table
My delicious take on a West Coast favorite.
0 from 0 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 5 mins
Total Time 25 mins
Course Dinner, Lunch, Salad
Cuisine American, Asian
Servings 4
Calories 517 kcal

Equipment

  • Large bowl

Ingredients
  

  • 8 cups romaine and iceberg lettuces hand torn
  • 1 cup cucumber English, sliced
  • 1 cup carrot freshly shredded
  • 1/2 cup pickled ginger shredded
  • 1 large chicken breast poached and shredded
  • 1 cup chow mein noodles crispy (homemade or store bought
  • 1 cup Creamy Sesame Dressing shown in recipe card below salad

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl, toss lettuce, cucumber, carrots, noodles, ginger, shredded chicken, and dressing until well coated.
  • Serve with addtional noodles and ginger.

Notes

Nutrition

Serving: 3cupsCalories: 517kcal
Keyword Chinese Chicken Salad, Classic salads
Share the LoveMention @claudiastable_la or tag #claudiastable_la!
creamy sesame dressing poured onto classic Chinese Chicken Salad

Creamy Sesame Salad Dressing

Nutty, slightly sweet and so addicting. The perfect dressing for salads or wraps.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 0 mins
Total Time 5 mins
Course Lunch, Salad
Cuisine American, Asian
Servings 4
Calories 170 kcal

Equipment

  • jar with lid

Ingredients
  

  • 5 tbsp tahini
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar or seasoned rice vinegar
  • 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp honey, raw
  • 1/2 tsp sambal oelek
  • 1/2 tsp ginger fresh, finely minced or 1/8 tsp dry
  • 1/8 tsp garlic powder

Instructions
 

  • Place all ingredients in a jar. Close with lid and shake until fully combined.

Notes

Nutrition

Serving: 2tbspCalories: 170kcal
Keyword asian salad dressing, easy salad dressing, tahini
Share the LoveMention @claudiastable_la or tag #claudiastable_la!
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Kale salad in bowl square image
Grilled Romaine and Radicchio Caesar salad
A modern take on the Caesar salad. Perfect side for any grilled meats.
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grilled salad in bowl with serving utensils and dressing
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I'm so happy to share what's on our table most days. My California inspired food recipes are simple and full of fresh flavor. It is my hope that you will find something new to try and share with your family and friends. Enjoy! Read More…

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