Crispy Wonton Chicken Salad

Ingredients

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons peach or apricot preserves

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Salt

8 ounces cooked chicken meat, torn into bite-size pieces (2 cups)

8 wonton wrappers (see Tip)

Vegetable oil, for frying

Salt

2 romaine hearts, coarsely chopped

4 scallions, coarsely chopped

1 packed cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems

1 packed cup coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves

Instructions

Step 1

Make the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sesame oil, peach preserves, mayonnaise, soy sauce, chili powder and onion powder, and season to taste with salt.

Step 2

Prepare the salad: Add the chicken to the dressing and toss.

Step 3

To fry the wonton wrappers, cut the squares into 1/2-inch strips, then cut those strips in half crosswise to shorten them. In a medium saucepan, heat an inch of oil over medium to 350 degrees, or until a wonton strip immediately bubbles when added. Carefully add the wonton strips to the hot oil and, stirring constantly with a slotted spoon, fry until puffy and golden, 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Transfer the crispy wontons to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt.

Step 4

Assemble the salad: Add the chopped romaine, scallions, cilantro, mint and half of the fried wontons to the bowl with the dressed chicken, and toss to combine. Season with salt as needed. Top with the remaining fried wontons and serve immediately.

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Crispy Wonton Chicken Salad

By

Eric Kim

This dynamic chicken salad, starring crispy strips of fried wonton wrappers, draws inspiration from the wonton chicken salad at the soup and salad buffet chain Sweet Tomatoes, as well as the American Chinese chicken salads that pervaded chain-restaurant menus throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. In a supporting role, letting the crispy wontons shine, is the punchy dressing of peach preserves, rice vinegar, sesame oil and chili powder. The dressing’s low oil content – plus the addition of mayonnaise, which helps create an emulsion – means the salad greens stay crunchy and keep for longer. For the chicken, you can use any leftover meat or tear pieces from a store-bought rotisserie bird.

Yield

2

Time

20 minutes

Rating

—

Ingredients

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons peach or apricot preserves

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Salt

8 ounces cooked chicken meat, torn into bite-size pieces (2 cups)

8 wonton wrappers (see Tip)

Vegetable oil, for frying

Salt

2 romaine hearts, coarsely chopped

4 scallions, coarsely chopped

1 packed cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems

1 packed cup coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves

Instructions

Step 1

Make the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sesame oil, peach preserves, mayonnaise, soy sauce, chili powder and onion powder, and season to taste with salt.

Step 2

Prepare the salad: Add the chicken to the dressing and toss.

Step 3

To fry the wonton wrappers, cut the squares into 1/2-inch strips, then cut those strips in half crosswise to shorten them. In a medium saucepan, heat an inch of oil over medium to 350 degrees, or until a wonton strip immediately bubbles when added. Carefully add the wonton strips to the hot oil and, stirring constantly with a slotted spoon, fry until puffy and golden, 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Transfer the crispy wontons to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt.

Step 4

Assemble the salad: Add the chopped romaine, scallions, cilantro, mint and half of the fried wontons to the bowl with the dressed chicken, and toss to combine. Season with salt as needed. Top with the remaining fried wontons and serve immediately.

More Recipes You Might Like

Caesar’s Caesar Salad

By Pati Jinich

The Caesar salad on the menu today at Caesar’s in Tijuana, Mexico, is but a distant cousin of the original version first served there 100 years ago. It is believed to have included a whole coddled egg, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce, and did not include anchovies. But Javier Plascencia and his family, who have been running Caesar’s for more than a decade, consider this iteration the best one yet. Romaine lettuce is coated in a creamy, intensely pungent dressing seasoned with anchovies, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce and freshly squeezed lime juice. Garlicky, baked baguette croutons provide serious crunch. A few rules elevate a good Caesar salad to a great one: The leaves must be whole, crisp and cold; croutons must be sliced, not diced; and Parmesan must be applied generously.

1 hr 40 min

Stone Fruit Caprese

By Ali Slagle

A standout caprese starts with great fruit. You need ripe tomatoes to weep juices, which then mingle with grassy olive oil and milky cheese to make your dressing. Basil adds freshness, black pepper and flakes of sea salt add crunch, and that’s it, a perfect combination. But if the stone fruit options are looking better than the tomatoes at the market, you can use them instead. They’re similar in flavor to tomatoes, but need cajoling to relinquish their juices. By letting sliced fruit macerate with salt, sugar and lemon juice, their fruitiness becomes more electric and their juices pool on the plate. Start with fruit you can smell and pair it with equally quality ingredients. Caprese is more about shopping than cooking.

Taco Salad

By Sohla El-Waylly

This Mexican American classic has roots at Disneyland. Charles Elmer Doolin, a cofounder of the Frito Company, created an edible cup out of Fritos and served it at his Disneyland restaurant, Casa de Fritos, in 1955. It was the size of a teacup, filled with ground beef, beans and sour cream, and called the Ta-Cup (a portmanteau of taco and cup). The creation was a hit, with recipes for taco salad made with various corn chips proliferating in the ’60s, becoming a staple in school cafeterias, and eventually growing into the jumbo version added to the Taco Bell menu in 1984. (The menu item was retired in 2020.) You can use any corn chip for this recipe, and there’s no need for it to be in cup form, but opt for Fritos, if you want that authentic taste.

Greek Salad

By Lidey Heuck

While diner-style Greek salads made with chopped romaine, crumbled feta and often grilled chicken have become ubiquitous in American restaurants, a traditional Greek salad, or horiatiki salata, is a simpler affair. An assembled salad of large-diced vegetables with Kalamata olives and sometimes capers, this salad has no greens at all, and the feta is served sliced on top of the salad rather than crumbled and tossed into it. A traditional Greek salad dressing usually consists of olive oil and red wine vinegar; this recipe adds garlic and oregano. To make the salad into a satisfying vegetarian main course, throw in a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas.

15 min

Fruit Salad

By Ali Slagle

A bit of sugar and lime makes a standout fruit salad: The duo accentuates fruit’s flavors and sweetness while creating a syrup to gloss the fruit. Massage lime zest into the sugar so its oils release, then stir mixed fruit with the lime sugar and some lime juice. Taste and tweak until the result is electric. You could also add chopped mint or basil, ground cinnamon or coriander, vanilla bean seeds, chile flakes or grated fresh ginger.

Lemon Turmeric Chicken Salad

By Zaynab Issa

Afghan murgh kebab (chicken kebab) and white sauce is a classic combination — the tangy, earthy sauce complements the turmeric-stained grilled chicken. Here, the two inspire a creamy, lemony chicken salad. Traditionally, Afghan white sauce is made with mayonnaise, milk, dried dill, vinegar and often MSG. A bit of Greek yogurt balances the richness of the mayo while maintaining a texture sturdy enough for a pita pocket. Fresh dill, sugar, salt and vinegar pay homage to the original seasonings, while the lemon zest, turmeric and garlic draw from the traditional murgh kebab marinade.

25 min

More from Weeknight Dinners

View All →

Cheesy Beef Pockets

By Iram Mansoor

Savory, melty beef and cheese folded into crispy baked tortilla pockets — great for a quick dinner or party snack. Spiced ground beef with bell pepper and optional Serrano gives these pockets a bold, comforting flavor.

50 min

Garlic Butter Chicken Parm Sandwich

By Lalada.

Crispy breaded chicken cutlets layered with marinara and melted cheese, served on garlic-butter-toasted rolls. A comforting, easy sandwich with rich garlic butter, melty mozzarella (or provolone) and a sprinkle of Parmesan.