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Sesame Ginger Orange Chicken Salad. With lots and lots of crispy, salty, fried wontons. This yummy Asian-inspired salad is a mix of fresh greens, chicken, juicy sweet oranges, creamy avocado, and delicious crunchy nuts, all topped with those crispy wontons. Everything is tossed together with my favorite toasted sesame and ginger salad dressing. I know you’ll find it delicious. This salad is a wonderful mix of savory, sweet, and salty. It’s no-cook, fast, easy to toss together, bright and colorful, plus, of course, totally delicious!
It’s been a minute since I shared a bright and fresh colorful salad. I thought this salad would be perfect to break up all the cozy soups and pasta. It’s all about having a nice balance!
As I work away on this post, I’m in New York, but once this post goes live, I’ll be home and back in the kitchen. After a week of eating out, I could not be more excited to cook for myself again. It’s cold here, so I’m still craving warming foods, but adding a bright salad to the mix is a must.
Especially one loaded with so much vitamin C!
I’ve wanted to make an orange chicken salad for a while now. Whenever I head to a Chinese restaurant, it’s always the first thing I order. I’ve always enjoyed the savory, sweet, tangy, and salty flavors.
I hesitated because I wasn’t sure how to make the salad feel like my own. But then, I started making fried wontons for my brother Red over the holidays. Ever since I’ve been regularly adding them to so many recipes. I’m loving them!
Obviously, an orange chicken salad is the perfect fit for homemade crispy wontons!
Here are details
I like to start with the dressing. It’s a mix of sesame oil, toasted sesame oil, honey, tamari, fresh ginger, garlic, orange zest, and toasted sesame seeds.
Honestly, this has become one of my favorite dressings. The toasted oil, honey, and tamari make it lick-the-spoon-good. And the ginger gives it a nice spicy yet fresh kick. If you love any of my Asian sauces, you’ll enjoy this!
The wontons are incredibly easy to make. All you need are oil and wonton wrappers. I love to use avocado oil when frying.
Cut the wonton wrappers into strips, then do a shallow fry in the oil until crisp. It only takes a minute and is super easy. Then I’ll usually sprinkle them with flaky salt.
And on to the actual salad…cabbage, greens, chicken, fresh oranges, avocado, and lots of dressing. The dressing really is key, it’s what brings in all the flavor. Then finish the salad with so many of those fried wontons, they are delicious!
If you’re looking to switch up your chicken salad, this is a great option for lunch or dinner! Enjoy this salad on its own or try serving it with your favorite dumpling soup or some Sesame Ginger Dumplings. Yum!
Looking for other dinner ideas?
Crockpot White Chicken Chili Burrito Bowls
Red’s Favorite Spicy Tuna Poke Bowls
Skillet Chicken Adobo with Coconut Rice
30 Minute Pineapple Chicken with Coconut Rice
Weeknight Sesame Teriyaki Chicken with Ginger Rice
Lastly, if you make Sesame Ginger Orange Chicken Salad, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Sesame Ginger Orange Chicken Salad…with crispy fried wontons
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 514 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Sesame Ginger Dressing
- 1/3 cup sesame oil
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
- 1-2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 rounded tablespoon orange zest
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Salad
- avocado oil, for frying
- 1 package wonton wrappers, sliced into strips
- 3 cups shredded cabbage
- 3 cups shredded lettuce
- 1-2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 1/3 cup slivered almonds or peanuts
- 1 cup fresh orange slices
- 2 avocados sliced
- 1/3 cup chopped green onions
- chili oil, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a glass jar or bowl. 2. To make the wontons. Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the strips of wontons and let cook, 1-2 minutes, until deeply golden and crisp. Drain on paper towels, then sprinkle with flaky salt.3. To make the salad. In a salad bowl, combine the cabbage, lettuce, chicken, almonds, and orange slices. Pour over half the dressing, then toss to coat the greens. Add the avocados, fried wontons, green onions, and chili oil. ENJOY the yumminess.
It’s been a minute since I have made one of your recipes, but this almost shouted “make me”! Soooo good!!!
Thanks so much Nancy!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you! xT
I made this last night and it is a keeper!
My grocery only had toasted sesame oil, so I used olive oil instead for the first oil. It is really good with that. I was out of avocado oil or I probably would have used that.
Hey Carol,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great weekend:)
Loved this recipe! Made it for dinner tonight….definitely will make it again. I didn’t have oranges so I used mandarins, and lime zest for the dressing. Also added cilantro. Delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
Hey Susan,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great weekend:)
This salad is Delicious! I could drink the dressing! I just couldn’t find the wonton wrappers, only spring roll wrappers. Would that work?
Hey Joy,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for giving it a try! I probably wouldn’t use spring roll wrappers. Have a great weekend:)
It was really delicious!
Hey Emily,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great weekend:)
I made this last night. After making the dressing I tasted it and found it bland so added salt and a touch more vinegar and honey, tasted again and was still disappointed. The wontons were a pain to fry, they burn easily. I had an orange so was able to zest for the dressing but I used a can of mandarins that needed to be used in the salad. Put it all together and it was DELICIOUS! Suddenly the dressing was perfect, the wontons add so much and I couldn’t stop eating this. Thanks Tieghan
Hey Marilyn,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! ❄️
Trader Joe’s has it 🙂
Thanks Melissa!!
This sounds amazing! Where can I find toasted sesame oil?
Hey Cathy,
Your local grocery store should carry toasted sesame oil in the Asian food aisle. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Plan on making this year salad for supper tonight but I have the same questions as the other commenters.
Hi Janet,
Please let me know what your specific questions are and I would be happy to help! You can follow the recipe as written:) xx
Does the dressing have a typo? I’m assuming the first ingredient should be rice vinegar, not two types of sesame oil? Just want to verify before trying!
Hi Natalie,
You are going to use both sesame oil and toasted sesame oil and then 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Can you possibly confirm the recipe ingredients? It says the dressing calls for sesame oil AND toasted sesame oil but there is a picture of a bottle rice vinegar with the jar of dressing and rice vinegar isn’t on the ingredient list? Also, the jar of dressing has something green in it? What is that? Can you share what kind of cabbage and what kind of lettuce you use? Thanks so much!
Hey Kim,
Yes, you are going to use both sesame oil and toasted sesame oil plus rice vinegar:) My family likes heat so I added some jalapeños to the dressing, not necessary but you can totally add some if you like! I used romaine lettuce and green cabbage. Let me know if you have any other questions!! I hope you love this salad! xx
I believe the second sesame oil portion, might be rice vinegar instead.
Hey Kat,
You are going to use both of the sesame oils and then 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar. Sorry for any confusion! Let me know if you give this salad a try! xx
This is a salad worth driving to town for the ingredients! Question about the salad dressing: in the photo of the jar of dressing there’s something green, like maybe jalapeños? Are they candied or pickled or just fresh slices added in to the dressing? Thanks for this recipe!!
Hey Marina,
If you like extra heat, you could add some pickled jalapeños into the dressing! Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this salad! xT
There’s a rice vinegar bottle in the picture alongside the dressing yet I don’t see rice vinegar in the ingredients list…
Hey Vickie,
Yes, you are going to add 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar in the dressing:) I hope this recipe turns out well for you, let me know if you give it a try! xx
This looks and sounds delicious! Always love your Asian recipes. Xx
Thanks so much Kelly-Jane!! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope it’s delish! xx