We absolutely love this Sesame Ginger Chicken Salad. It’s has so much going on with the amazing flavors and textures. It’s definitely a very satisfying entree salad that can be enjoyed year round. Although it’s super hearty it’s surprisingly light and refreshing too! We promise you will fall in love with this delicious salad!
How to Make Sesame Ginger Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Process
Crispy Quinoa
- Place a skillet over medium-low heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. Add quinoa and spread onto a single layer. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
- Toast quinoa for 2 minutes before stirring. Continue to toast for an additional 3 to 4 minutes, constantly stirring. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and cool.
Fried Wonton Strips and Salad Assembly
- Fill a tall-sided pot with oil, place over medium heat and bring to 325˚F. Carefully fry wonton strips in oil, moving mixture around with tongs (to create texture) for 1 to 2 minutes or until wontons lightly brown. Remove from oil and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Season with salt.
- In a large salad bowl combine cabbage, lettuce, and chicken. Drizzle with 2/3 of the dressing and toss together.
- Top with remaining ingredients and drizzle with remaining dressing. Serve.
Why this is the BEST Sesame Ginger Chicken Salad
- The combination of shredded cabbage and romaine give this salad a nice balance of crunch, without seeming too much like coleslaw.
- The bits of crispy quinoa, sliced almonds, matchstick radishes, and fried wonton strips also provide a nice, light crispy texture along with delicious flavor.
- The sliced avocado give the sesame ginger chicken salad a wonderful creamy element.
- The sesame-ginger dressing is to die for! It’s seriously SO good!
Prep Ahead Instructions
Crispy Quinoa
Our crispy quinoa can be made up to 2 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in a cool-dry place until ready to use.
Fried Wonton Strips
Our fried wonton strips can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in a cool-dry place until ready to use.
Sesame Ginger Dressing
Our Sesame Ginger Dressing can be made up to 2 weeks ahead of time and stored in an airtight bottle or jar in the refrigerator until ready to use. When ready to use, make sure to give the dressing a good shake.
Variations for Our Sesame Ginger Chicken Salad
- Replace the radishes with jicama sticks or sliced cucumber! You still get a nice crunch, but an even more mild flavor.
- Replace the fried wonton strips with pre-packaged crispy fried onions or shallots! This is a great hack if you aren’t in the mood to fry up your own wonton strips, plus you get an extra boost of onion flavor!
- Skip the chicken and add shredded jackfruit or hearts of palm or some fried tofu sticks for a simple and delicious vegetarian friendly alternative.
- Replace the soy sauce with tamari or coconut aminos and skip the wonton strips to make our salad gluten free!
More Delicious Salad Recipes You Will Love
Sesame Ginger Chicken Salad
Our Sesame Ginger Chicken Salad is one of the best hearty salads ever! We love all the flavors and textures going on. This is one salad that will definitely leave you feeling very satisfied!
Servings:
INGREDIENTS
crispy quinoa
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
fried wonton strips
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 6 sheets wonton wrappers sliced into thin strips
salad
- 3 cups finely shredded green cabbage
- 3 cups finely shredded romaine lettuce
- 2 1/2 cups rotisserie chicken
- 1/4 cup matchstick cut radishes
- 3 tablespoons sliced almonds
- 1/2 avocado sliced
- 1/2 recipe sesame ginger dressing
INSTRUCTIONS
fried wonton strips
- Fill a tall-sided pot with oil, place over medium heat and bring to 325˚F. Carefully fry wonton strips in oil, moving mixture around with tongs (to create texture) for 1 to 2 minutes or until wontons lightly brown. Remove from oil and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Season with salt.
crispy quinoa
- Place a skillet over medium-low heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. Add quinoa and spread onto a single layer. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
- Toast quinoa for 2 minutes before stirring. Continue to toast for an additional 3 to 4 minutes, constantly stirring. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and cool.
salad assembly
- In a large salad bowl combine cabbage, lettuce, and chicken. Drizzle with 2/3 of the dressing and toss together.
- Top with remaining ingredients and drizzle with remaining dressing. Serve.
NOTES
**Nutritional Info. does not include dressing**
Prep Ahead Instructions
Crispy Quinoa: Our crispy quinoa can be made up to 2 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in a cool-dry place until ready to use.
Fried Wonton Strips: Our fried wonton strips can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in a cool-dry place until ready to use.
Sesame Ginger Dressing: Our Sesame Ginger Dressing can be made up to 2 weeks ahead of time and stored in an airtight bottle or jar in the refrigerator until ready to use. When ready to use, make sure to give the dressing a good shake.
Variations for Our Sesame Ginger Chicken Salad
- Replace the radishes with jicama sticks or sliced cucumber! You still get a nice crunch, but an even more mild flavor.
- Replace the fried wonton strips with pre-packaged crispy fried onions or shallots! This is a great hack if you aren’t in the mood to fry up your own wonton strips, plus you get an extra boost of onion flavor!
- Skip the chicken and add shredded jackfruit or hearts of palm or some fried tofu sticks for a simple and delicious vegetarian friendly alternative.
- Replace the soy sauce with tamari or coconut aminos and skip the wonton strips to make our salad gluten free!
Calories: 589kcal Carbohydrates: 20g Protein: 46g Fat: 37g Saturated Fat: 6g Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g Monounsaturated Fat: 12g Trans Fat: 0.1g Cholesterol: 143mg Sodium: 596mg Potassium: 419mg Fiber: 6g Sugar: 3g Vitamin A: 3162IU Vitamin C: 24mg Calcium: 67mg Iron: 2mg
CUISINE: asian-american
KEYWORD: hearty salad recipe
COURSE: lunch, Main Course, Salad
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
tag @SpoonForkBacon and #SpoonForkBacon on Instagram
Everything about this is perfection. My kids ask for this dressing in their lunch….thank you!
Such a fresh and delicious main dish! It’s a favorite in my family. The most recent time we made it, my husband smoked a pork tenderloin and we used slices of tender pork instead of chicken. It was a fantastic pairing – highly recommend! The crunchy quinoa is one of my fave parts of this salad. Thank you for such a great recipe!
Here me out, made this again and added in a bit of pickled ginger into the salad and pop such a fun pop that adds perfectly!
We made this tonight. I think we made a mistake though…do you cook the quinoa per package directions first and then sauté it in a pan to make it crispy? Or do you sauté the raw quinoa in oil?
Best salad ever! On repeat in my house
I made this for dinner tonight and it was fantastic. I cheated a bit though, I bought wonton strips that were already made and shredded cabbage. I’m sure it is better with freshly fried wontons but I have to find ways to make things a bit easier when pressed for time.