Hawai’i Style Chinese Chicken Salad Recipe

This is NOT your P.F. Chang’s Chinese chicken salad. Use my recipe for a local Hawai’i style salad side dish that goes great with Hawaiian BBQ. Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links.

This is THE recipe for Chinese chicken salad. No hate to the other salad bloggers out there, but this recipe isn’t just about salad. It’s THE salad. The one you can get in giant aluminum takeout tins from your favorite Hawaiian BBQ restaurant. The one that goes with kalua pork, spam musubi, short ribs, and all the other plate lunch fixings. Local Hawai’i style Chinese chicken salad holds so much nostalgia for me and reminds me of giant family potlucks, church gatherings, and birthday parties.

In fact, the photos from this post are from a giant 50-person park BBQ birthday party we co-hosted with family friends from Hawai’i. Yes, I threw the salad together in a giant tupperware container and didn’t bother using nice serving dishes for the photos. I’m a busy mom trying to feed 50 people, okay? At least now you know I’m a real person, right? Right? 

Fine, I’ll come back to update the photos later, but enjoy this moment of realness while you can, before I succumb to the pressures of influencing.

Why is it called Chinese chicken salad?

Chinese chicken salad is clearly not really “Chinese” in the sense that it’s a dish that does not originate from China, so why the name? To be honest, I’m not sure and neither is the rest of the internet. Perhaps a food historian can help us out?

Some articles credit the invention of Chinese chicken salad to Sylvia Cheng Wu in 1959, who ran a Chinese American restaurant in California. I grew up in California, but the version of this dish that I always ate growing up is very popular in Hawai’i. I always assumed it originated there.

What is Hawai’i style Chinese chicken salad?

The local Hawai’i version of Chinese chicken salad is mostly green. No peppers, no carrots, no peanuts… you’re allowed some orange in the form of mandarin oranges, which are optional. Toasted almonds are also optional to add additional crunch. You can find versions of this recipe for this style of salad in Hawaiian newspapers and the Foodland blog.

The MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT that all recipes have in common and absolutely cannot be omitted is the fried wonton strips! Okay, obviously the shredded chicken and the lettuce also cannot be omitted or it’s not a chicken salad, but the most BELOVED ingredient is the wonton strips. Unfortunately, this does mean that this is not gluten-free, as I haven’t been able to find any gluten-free wonton strips. But on the plus side, you can find these at most grocery stores so you don’t have to deep fry them yourself.

And that’s it! The Hawai’i style salad should look mostly green with some sprinkling of white/beige from the chicken and wonton strips. If your salad looks like the rainbow, it’s probably the Wolfgang Puck or other more “American” style salad. While normally I love a plate full of colorful veggies, this is not the time nor place. The dressing for the Hawai’i version should also be some sort of soy or sesame vinaigrette and nothing creamy.

Note: There is a very similar salad also popular in Hawai’i that uses crunchy ramen noodles. I have always considered this an entirely different salad, aptly named ramen noodle salad. Recipe for that salad coming soon.

What are the main ingredients for chicken salad?

The main ingredients you need for Hawai’i style Chinese chicken salad are:

• Romaine lettuce
• Shredded chicken
• Fried wonton strips
• Green onions

Optional ingredients include cilantro, toasted almonds, and canned mandarin oranges.

For the chicken, you can certainly cook chicken breasts or chicken thighs and then shred the cooked meat, but I find it easiest just to buy a rotisserie chicken and shred that. You can even use leftover rotisserie chicken from the day before, as the whole chicken provides enough meat for a super giant potluck serving of salad and not necessarily a family of four serving, if you know what I mean.

I also don’t recommend using iceberg lettuce for this salad, as it really should be dark leafy green. If you don’t like romaine, something like green leaf lettuce is fine. Please do not add in red cabbage or bell peppers… I mean, I’m sure it tastes fine, but you’ve essentially made a different recipe at that point. I do think some Hawai’i Chinese chicken salads may include some shredded napa cabbage, but I prefer to keep it simple. 

What is Chinese chicken salad dressing made of?

For the dressing, I use the same soy vinaigrette dressing that I also use in my somen salad and tofu salad. It’s a perfect, versatile salad dressing for all your Asian and Asian-ish salads. Once you memorize the recipe for the dressing, you can really use it for anything and makes cooking that much easier!

Here’s how you make it: Mix one part soy sauce to two parts sugar, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Mix well. That’s it! I often make mine in a mason jar so I can screw the lid on and shake to stir it up. It also makes it easy to pack and toss the salad on location if bringing to a potluck or party.

More Asian Salad Recipes

Looking for more salad recipes that go along with an Asian American menu? Check these out:

• Somen salad
• Cold tofu salad
• ​Sesame noodle salad
• Japanese macaroni salad