February 11, 2026 Ellen 0 Comments

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Chinese Chicken Salad

This Chinese Chicken Salad is the ultimate cheat code for a fresh, healthy, and incredibly fast weekday meal. By using a pre-shredded coleslaw mix, you skip the tedious chopping and get straight to the crunch. It’s a vibrant fusion of savory shredded chicken, crisp veggies, and a zesty ginger-soy dressing that rivals any gourmet bistro version.

Why You’ll Love This 10-Minute Recipe

Ultimate Convenience: Using coleslaw salad mix cuts your prep time down.
Texture Heaven: A satisfying blend of crunchy cabbage, shredded carrots, and crispy fried shallots.
Meal Prep Friendly: This salad holds up beautifully in the fridge, making it the perfect healthy office lunch.
High Protein & Low Carb: A nutrient-dense meal that actually keeps you full without the heavy feeling.

Shredded cabbage, carrots, lettuce and just about any colorful crunchy vegetable can work well in this. I always have a bag of coleslaw mix from Whole Foods or Trader Joes in my fridge and whip this up whenever I have any leftover chicken or chicken I need to cook. Tossed in an Asian-y dressing made with all the Chinese sauce staples such sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger and garlic, this salad is substantial yet still easy and light. Make a big batch and that can be your dinner and leftovers for lunch the next day. My vegetable adverse teen inhales this salad. Keep in mind, his idea of salad is just plain lettuce and dressing (hold the cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, peppers, etc!). But Chinese chicken salad? Yes, please. Keeps well in the fridge for days.

What’s in this salad

shredded chicken
coleslaw mix (not pictured)
scallions
sesame oil
rice vinegar
hoisin sauce
vegetable oil
honey
fried shallots
ginger

(Chinese) Chicken Salad

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Although this chicken salad is not a traditional Chinese recipe, I’m guessing it was named as such because of the ingredients that are in it. I like to poach my own chicken but any cooked, shredded chicken will work well here. Coleslaw mix simplifies this with less washing, peeling and chopping. The texture is crunchy with the cabbage, carrots and fried shallots. The dressing is savory, sweet and tangy.

Author: Ellen
Category: Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 bone in, skin on chicken breasts, poached and shredded
3 stalks scallions, sliced in 1 inch pieces
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 12 ounce bag of coleslaw mix
1/3 cup fried shallots

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Instructions

Combine dressing ingredients: rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, ginger, garlic and oil. Whisk until emulsified.
Add the scallions and coleslaw mix and toss to combine. Add the shredded chicken and toss again to combine.
Top with fried shallots.

Notes

I like to add fried shallots in this. You can use crispy wonton strips or sesame sticks.
Speaking of sesame, sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on top. So good!
Or my other obsession- chili crisp oil.
You can use shrimp instead of chicken, or use both!
Make this gluten-free by using tamari instead of soy sauce.
Use rotisserie chicken for even faster prep. Grilled chicken also works perfectly.