Growing up, I went with my mom to countless potlucks, BBQs, and gatherings with her friends, where my mom was always asked to bring a food item to share (she was the foodie in the group, and arguably the best cook of everyone she knew). Her most requested dish was her famous Chinese Chicken Salad, and she would toss together giant tubs of it to bring to these gatherings. I remember sitting in the passenger seat of my mom’s car while she drove, holding a giant Tupperware of the tossed salad in my lap, precariously balancing a slightly smaller Tupperware of the dressing on top for my mom to toss when we got to our destination. Without fail, her famous salad would “fly” off the table and be devoured through second and third helpings shortly after we arrived. Every time she brought this salad, someone new would ask her for the recipe, and she would tell them that the recipe was “so simple” and “takes no time to make” – anyone she told was shocked at how simple the salad was, despite the complexity of flavors it offered. When I got older, I craved my mom’s tangy Chinese Chicken Salad and ended up becoming one of those people who begged her for the recipe. I remember her laughing and saying, “It’s so simple! Here’s the recipe – you can make it your own with the toppings.”
The more I made this salad, the more I experimented with the toppings, as my mom had suggested. My mom’s version of the salad was truly simple; it included hearts of romaine lettuce, shredded chicken, and her homemade salad dressing, with the occasional mandarin orange on the side if it happened to be in season. As you would expect, I’ve thrown in my own twist on the recipe, keeping all of her “legacy” ingredients the same, but adding in cucumbers, baby corn, crispy fried wontons, crispy fried onions, and Furikake to season the chicken. If you prefer a simpler salad, or just can’t find the added ingredients I just listed, I encourage you to still try the “legacy” version of my mom’s salad – you’ll be just as pleased as all of her friends were.
“In 1960s America, with the lifting of the cap on immigration from Asia, dressings using actual ingredients from Chinese cooking — sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger — entered the rotation. Thus, Chinese chicken salad grew increasingly popular.”
– new york times
Mom’s Chinese Chicken Salad
Ingredients
For Salad
- 1.25 lb Chicken Breast (or raw chicken tenders)
- 1 tsp Furikake (optional)
- 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 6 cups Hearts of Romaine Lettuce
- 3 Persian Cucumbers
- 1/2 can Baby Corn
- 1 Mandarin Orange
- Crispy Fried Wontons (for topping)
- Crispy Fried Onions (for topping)
For Salad Dressing
- 3.5 tbsp Rice Vinegar
- 3.5 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 2 tsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, rinse and pat dry chicken breast. If chicken breast is thick, tenderize on both sides until thinned out.
- Season chicken breast with salt, pepper, and Furikake (if using).
- Add chicken to air fryer and cook at 380 degrees for 12 minutes, shaking halfway through.
- While chicken is in the air fryer, prepare salad ingredients. Add lettuce greens to a large bowl, slice cucumbers, and chop baby corn. Toss to combine.
- Peel and slice mandarin oranges and set aside.
- To make the dressing, add all ingredients to a small bowl and vigorously whisk until well-combined. Adjust ingredients to taste preference. Then, set aside.
- Once chicken is cooked, remove from air fryer and place on a cutting board. To shred, use two forks and pull from the center outwards until shreds are in bite-size pieces.
- Add shredded chicken to salad along with fried onions and crispy wonton strips.
- Drizzle in salad dressing and toss salad ingredients to combine and coat evenly.
- Serve salad on a plate with mandarin orange slices on the side.
Watch my video on how to make this recipe by clicking here.
