Homemade Chinese chicken salad with a lighter and healthier touch. Crispy crunchy serve with a lip smackingly delicious Almond dressing.
The following recipe, is my lightened up version of Chinese chicken salad served at a restaurant I used to work at . A very simple and popular dish – a big seller for the restaurant and one I enjoyed frequently. At the time , I wasn’t aware of its nutritional content – thank goodness!
I over indulged on it, after all it is a salad and they are suppose to be healthy right? Wrong!
Being more aware about how many calories are in a tablespoon of oil, I tend to be more cautious about how I utilize my calories, especially with everyday meals or meals I consider healthy.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy plenty of meals with high calorie content food as you can see here. Would never give it up.
I made several changes to this Chinese chicken salad to make it nutritious ; reduce the oil in the dressing , baked the wontons instead of frying them and used pan roasted chicken breast with very little oil ( shredded roasted whole chicken works too).
For the dressing, I only used 3 tablespoons of oil and replaced part of it with almond butter for added flavor. I replaced the sugar with honey and for some heat siraracha .
This salad , has become my everyday meal when am trying to shred a few pounds , I can load up on it with less guilt because I know exactly what is in the salad.
.Enjoy it!
Healthy Chinese Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 of shredded or chopped chicken breast about 2 medium chicken breast
- 8 wontons 1 1/2 cup wonton strips
- 6 cups chopped salad napa cabbage or romaine lettuce
- 2 cups shredded carrot
- 2 cups sprouts
- 1 cup mandarin
- 2 scallions white and green parts, sliced diagonally
- 2 tablespoon white sesame seeds toasted
- For the dressing:
- 2 Tablespoon dark sesame oil
- 1 Tablespoon canola oil
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2-3 tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon peeled grated fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon siraracha
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, or foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Cut wonton wrappers into strips and lay on baking sheet.
- Bake for approximately 8-12 minutes depending on your oven until wontons are crispy and lightly golden brown. You may have to wash them very closely. Remove from the oven, let cool
- If using fresh chicken breast think about pounding it with a meat mallet, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Lightly spray a nonstick fry pan, Preheat skillet over medium –high heat until hot. Place chicken in the skillet and cook for about 5- 6 minutes on each side until juice runs clear. You may have to turn the chicken more than once to make sure the chicken is brown on both sides. Set aside and let it cool. Slice chicken into strips or just shred it. Set aside
- In a large bowl, combine Napa cabbage, carrots, scallions, bean sprouts, Mandarin orange, sliced chicken, parsley and wonton strips. Sprinkle with sesame seeds
- Combine all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake like crazy -to emulsify for about 2 minutes. Set aside. Be sure to shake it before each use.
- Add dressing to salad and toss to coat right before serving Serve and enjoy
Nutrition Information:
Anna says
Really enjoyed this recipe! I doubled the dressing and marinated some chicken breasts in half of it. Delicious!
Chris B. says
Looks delicious! How many servings is this recipe. (We are busily counting calories). Thanks for a great resource! 🙂
ImmaculateBites says
4-5 servings .
Linda Hood says
My son is allergic to sesame seeds/oils and sunflower seeds and oils. Could I use cashew or almond oil instead of these? Maybe use these nuts in the salad as well. What do you think?
imma africanbites says
Yes, you sure can. 🙂
Steph says
I just tried this recipe and it was Sooo delicious thank u thank u thank u!!!! The sauce is the best part. Heavenly! Good job on that recipe. I had fun with the wontons as well 🙂
Sandra says
Love it Immaculate.Looks awesome. I need to try it.
Tina Jui says
Wow, this looks great. I love how you made your own wonton crisps. I’ve never thought of doing that before. Looks so easy!
Africanbites says
Tina, they really are easy to make – and you can eat more of them. Thanks for taking the time to comment.