I knew the wonderful, elegant and charming Madame Wu well in the 70’s and 80’s and even traveled with her to Las Vegas where we did a demonstration of her famous Chinese Chicken Salad at the MGM Grand to a couple of hundred wives of golfers playing at the Bob Hope classic tournament. The food at the famous Wu’s Garden Restaurant in Santa Monica was always excellent and the two most popular dishes were her Chinese Chicken Salad and Wu’s Beef. The restaurant saw almost every celebrity of the day there - it was one of the places to be seen. I have the original recipe which is contained in her first cookbook. Madame Wu’s Art of Chinese Cooking. It is a simpler recipe, with everything cut finely, with the highlight coming from puffed up rice vermicelli, which was made by putting in the dry packaged noodles into hot oil for a couple of seconds. That was the main crunch - with thin strips of fried wonton wrappers and sliced almonds tossed in. The chicken was lightly seasoned and fried then shredded. Just iceberg lettuce was used. The dressing is lighter without orange juice, but I think that orange makes a great addition and I have used it myself. Madame Wu used to dine at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant, Spago, and he came up with his version as an honor to her. Then other restaurants started making it, like Chin-Chin’s on Sunset. But, like you said, there are many variations and they can all taste good! I did the research and some writing for her 2nd book, Madame Wu’s Ying and Yang Recipes. Madame Wu passed away last year at 104. She was quite an amazing woman and I am fortunate to have known her and her lovely family. I am still in touch with one of her sons.
I’m 46 years old. I made this salad tonight because it looked so good… I’ve never had a salad in my life, honest to god! I flippin’ loved it! Now I’m thinking I may have been missing out!!! Thank you man!
I was trained under Madame WU years ago! I trained in West Los Angeles, on Wishire Blvd. , with chiefs from the San Francisco Hotels . It was an eight week cooking course of Chinese Gourmet foods. Over half of your ingredients are not from her recipe. I will try your recipe and see IF it is equivalent or perhaps surpasses Madame WU's original recipe. I will save this blog and report back with my findings. Thank you for giving Madame WU the credit she whole heartedly deserves ! God bless you and Madame WU !!!
My family has had an asian chicken salad recipe for a few decades, but it involves using Napa cabbage, Ramen noodles, baked & diced breasts, and a simplified dressing using Rice wine vinegar, Sesame oil, and the ramen chicken packets. Toasted almonds and sesame seeds are part of our recipe as well. I like the idea of fried breaded cutlets and the cut fried wonton wraps - I will add those for a bit more crunch... and fancy up the dressing with your additions..- Thanks!
If you're in Hawaii, be grateful because the Chinese chicken salad dressing is sooo frickin superior compared to the stuff elsewhere. My favorite was Ming's in Pearl City, but pretty much anywhere you go in Hawaii, you'll get the same creamy dressing. It's heartbreaking that I'm in California and can only get a shoyu based dressing here. I gotta find a recipe for THAT dressing!
I have to say that having eaten this salad in California since the late 1960’s it NEVER included chicken that was breaded and fried. It is certainly delicious like that but the early versions were always made with grilled chicken. That was one reason it was so popular; grilled chicken was lower in calories and fat so the salad was something delicious while still fitting into a low-calorie diet. Californians were obsessed were obsessed with dieting because of the beach culture and the movie industry being located there.
I saw a wonderful documentary on Madame Wu....a fascinating, sophisticated woman. I am not surprised this delicious wonderful salad came from her. Will make this one soon.
Your videos are so addictive and I love your passion for really great healthy food. This salad looks so amazing and makes me hungry...Thanks so much for sharing 😊 ❤
My favorite salad of all time! I have a few cucumbers and sugar snap peas laying so I’ll add those but can’t wait! Love all the textures and flavors🔥👊🏼
My 1970s intro to this beloved dish was at Kee Joon's near San Francisco Airport. As best I can recall, their version included little Mandarin orange slices.
Made this week and wow! Love the layers of flavor. No radicchio so I use purple cabbage. The chicken is SO light and crispy I could eat that on a different salad every day! Bravo!
I’ve lived in California for 4 decades, and I’ve never come across a Chinese chicken salad as top notch as this! This is Chinese chicken salad Extraordinaire!!! Excellent, Stephen. You are top notch!
I used to get Chinese Chicken Salad at The Sidewalk Cafe in Venice Beach. It was not w breaded chicken, nice shredded chicken chunks instead. That dressing was the best. I learned that sesame oil is a favorite flavor of mine!
This is a really good Asian salad dressing recipe. Actually comes very similar to one of my favorite lunch places for salad. I also tried adding the tablespoon or two of peanut butter to give it more of a Thai peanut flavor which was awesome and it also help thicken it up
I make a similar dressing but I like to mix in a tablespoon or so of Tahini to help thicken and emulsify the dressing. Touch of Mirin for sweetness and rice vinegar for the acidity. good stuff.
I love crunch and that’s when the reasons that I love the salad is so much of it is crunchy but you also get a ton of protein. I think I’ll make those after the holiday.
My favorite Chinese chicken salad is still the first one I had 20 plus years ago in the Bay Area. The greens were so finely chopped and had no dressing. The chicken was lightly seasoned and very finely shredded, not course and not chopped. Each forkful was just an amazingly satisfying experience. That restaurant closed about year after i first had that salad and i have never able to find a recipe quite like it.
Oh my goodness, that looks fantastic! I can't wait to try it; we love salads. My husband and I don't like mustard, so I'll substitute some tahini to thicken the dressing.
It's the crunch and tang baby! Been making a beautiful version of this for decades and it is so addictive. Will def try your version bud. BTW . . . your Stuffing recipe has become quite a hit with friends and family. Stay strong and thanks for the great recipes and passion for food.
Thank you for reminding me of the dish I loved so much growing up in LA. I remember Madame Wu's Garden❤️ What a Lady! Here in the South they do chicken about the same way. I'm going to try your wonton method instead of maifun rice sticks. Great detail, very helpful. Gorgeous presentation.
Wow love the idea of this. I used to make a similar recipe in one of my restaurants… so yummy and fresh. I think I used mayo and honey as the base, but can’t remember hehe , was years ago. I would try this for sure
Love the name of your channel and this recipe, just that I would first wash the lettuces, where I live if I don't do that I can get sick with some kind of bacteria or parasite. But other than that it looks delicious!
This is the first time I've ever seen the chicken breaded and fried. Looks delicious. There are so many variations of what others call Wolfgang's Chinois Chicken salad...Some say that he also adds julienned Mango.
Thank you for such a great demonstration! I really appreciate your pro tips like how to totally bread the chicken so well. I made this watching your video and it came out awesome! I was sad I'd run out of Saracha sauce, so I just used about a teaspoon of Valentina hot sauce and it worked! The dressing is to die for!
I was first introduced to Chinese Chicken Salad by Pick Up Stix in San Clemente, CA many years ago. Have been addicted to some version or other since then! I will have to try your Dijon mustard in the dressing.
I'm a native Californian (like it matters) but I've been eating this Chinese Chicken Salad all my life - and there are many iterations. This one being my favorite but it's all good! What's not to like about chicken, salad ingredients, asian dressing, some crunchy stuff....Thank you for making this one for us, it's perfection!
Thank you so much for sharing your work. You are by far my go-to and favorite!! Love, Love, Love your channel. I was literally craving this meal. How did you know?? 😂
Ya know I have watched a few of your videos but not made many although your turkey was outstanding. After watching this recipe you will be very happy to know I really think you know what you are doing. I really like Chinese chicken salad and your version is by far the best. Nicely done.
I made it last night, glad i used 1.5tbsp of dijon instead of 2-3, also happy i used 1tbsp of sesame oil instead of 2-3 as those were both overpowering. I couldnt get the sweetness to come out no matter how much rice vinegar and mandarin juice i added, i squeezed a fresh one and even used some mandarin pieces in a can with the juice. overall still super tasty
I never use that boxed Italian seasoned bread crumbs. I make my own bread (no knead) and slice it thin to dry a couple of days. Then I run it through the food processor and add the seasoning, Some grown in my yard and some bought.
I make a copycat recipe of the Applebees Asian Chicken Salad and it is delicious! I’m eager to compare the two recipes. I have learned being a tad over handed with the sesame oil and rice wine vinegar can totally ruin the dish. I expect he would know how to compensate for that but I’ve never been able to.
@@RowenMyBoat That's great! I don't know that I would tackle making it. Now I'm craving it again and will probably stop one day soon and have one. There's just something about sweet/sour flavors. When you make it, let me know how they compare!🌹
I totally crave this salad! I remember it always having mandarin orange slices and grilled chicken. And I'm pretty sure the wonton strips were those round ones you used to get at chinese restaurants as a side? I wonder why it was different?
I made this tonight. I couldn't find radicchio so I substituted broccoli slaw. I don't think it mattered because that dressing would make a shoe taste delicious. Another home run, Steve. Keep 'em coming.
I knew the wonderful, elegant and charming Madame Wu well in the 70’s and 80’s and even traveled with her to Las Vegas where we did a demonstration of her famous Chinese Chicken Salad at the MGM Grand to a couple of hundred wives of golfers playing at the Bob Hope classic tournament.
The food at the famous Wu’s Garden Restaurant in Santa Monica was always excellent and the two most popular dishes were her Chinese Chicken Salad and Wu’s Beef.
The restaurant saw almost every celebrity of the day there - it was one of the places to be seen.
I have the original recipe which is contained in her first cookbook. Madame Wu’s Art of Chinese Cooking. It is a simpler recipe, with everything cut finely, with the highlight coming from puffed up rice vermicelli, which was made by putting in the dry packaged noodles into hot oil for a couple of seconds. That was the main crunch - with thin strips of fried wonton wrappers and sliced almonds tossed in. The chicken was lightly seasoned and fried then shredded. Just iceberg lettuce was used. The dressing is lighter without orange juice, but I think that orange makes a great addition and I have used it myself.
Madame Wu used to dine at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant, Spago, and he came up with his version as an honor to her. Then other restaurants started making it, like Chin-Chin’s on Sunset. But, like you said, there are many variations and they can all taste good!
I did the research and some writing for her 2nd book, Madame Wu’s Ying and Yang Recipes. Madame Wu passed away last year at 104. She was quite an amazing woman and I am fortunate to have known her and her lovely family. I am still in touch with one of her sons.
Wonderful story!😊
Wow! You've got the inside track on Madame Wu. Pleasure to read your story.
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing!
Fantastic history, and oh lucky you! Thank you for sharing 🙌🏼🤍
Thank you for sharing your remembrances - how wonderful!
I’m 46 years old. I made this salad tonight because it looked so good… I’ve never had a salad in my life, honest to god! I flippin’ loved it! Now I’m thinking I may have been missing out!!! Thank you man!
I’m making this because of your comment! 🙏🏽
I just want to know how you got to 46 without ever eating a salad? No judgement, just curious… 😅
@@foxdylan9536 that's why I'm making it😂 I has to be AMAZING!
@@noelletrent5649 well good for you, salads are amazing & once you find a dressing that really works then it makes them easy to eat 😋
@@foxdylan9536 I’m not sure, just always avoided them. Once you get the reputation, no one offers you one! Haha
I was trained under Madame WU years ago! I trained in West Los Angeles, on Wishire Blvd. , with chiefs from the San Francisco Hotels . It was an eight week cooking course of Chinese Gourmet foods. Over half of your ingredients are not from her recipe.
I will try your recipe and see IF it is equivalent or perhaps surpasses Madame WU's original recipe.
I will save this blog and report back with my findings.
Thank you for giving Madame WU the credit she whole heartedly deserves !
God bless you and Madame
WU !!!
I made this tonight and followed the recipe to a tee. This was outstanding...absolutely delicious. Everything about it was perfect. Thank you!
My family has had an asian chicken salad recipe for a few decades, but it involves using Napa cabbage, Ramen noodles, baked & diced breasts, and a simplified dressing using Rice wine vinegar, Sesame oil, and the ramen chicken packets. Toasted almonds and sesame seeds are part of our recipe as well. I like the idea of fried breaded cutlets and the cut fried wonton wraps - I will add those for a bit more crunch... and fancy up the dressing with your additions..- Thanks!
Delish! My SiL’s Mom makes something very similar (Japanese). The crunchy ramen noodles really do make a difference!
If you're in Hawaii, be grateful because the Chinese chicken salad dressing is sooo frickin superior compared to the stuff elsewhere. My favorite was Ming's in Pearl City, but pretty much anywhere you go in Hawaii, you'll get the same creamy dressing. It's heartbreaking that I'm in California and can only get a shoyu based dressing here. I gotta find a recipe for THAT dressing!
Can you link your mis en place bowls, please?
I love that salad! But it is a completely different salad. Different taste.
I have napa in the fridge. Do I cut out the white vein?
Asian salads are unmatched. The dressing is just so good.
I have to say that having eaten this salad in California since the late 1960’s it NEVER included chicken that was breaded and fried. It is certainly delicious like that but the early versions were always made with grilled chicken. That was one reason it was so popular; grilled chicken was lower in calories and fat so the salad was something delicious while still fitting into a low-calorie diet. Californians were obsessed were obsessed with dieting because of the beach culture and the movie industry being located there.
Yeah, I was thinking it would be so much better, or at least healthier, with simple grilled chicken considering the wontons are fried.
I would upgrade this recipe to include grilled unbreaded chicken no fried egg roll and avocado oil for dressing
That’s why he said this was his version
In LA, it’s really always served with shredded white meat chicken.
That's how I remember it, as well.
I saw a wonderful documentary on Madame Wu....a fascinating, sophisticated woman. I am not surprised this delicious wonderful salad came from her. Will make this one soon.
Your videos are so addictive and I love your passion for really great healthy food.
This salad looks so amazing and makes me hungry...Thanks so much for sharing 😊 ❤
I would not use the word "healthy" to describe this dish 😅 so much oil, and just cos it's a salad doesnt mean it's healthy. Looks tasty though
My favorite salad of all time! I have a few cucumbers and sugar snap peas laying so I’ll add those but can’t wait! Love all the textures and flavors🔥👊🏼
Dang, I could go for some sugar snap peas & cucumbers in it.
The salad looks so good and dressing, wow. Having trouble bringing up recipe though. Says page doesn’t exist.
My 1970s intro to this beloved dish was at Kee Joon's near San Francisco Airport. As best I can recall, their version included little Mandarin orange slices.
Made this week and wow! Love the layers of flavor. No radicchio so I use purple cabbage. The chicken is SO light and crispy I could eat that on a different salad every day! Bravo!
That is BEAUTIFUL! I also likeit with cilantro.
The best dressing. Love this salad
I’ve lived in California for 4 decades, and I’ve never come across a Chinese chicken salad as top notch as this! This is Chinese chicken salad Extraordinaire!!!
Excellent, Stephen. You are top notch!
I just made this, and it’s fantastic! Thank you!
This is one of my favorite things! I crave it in the summer. Your version looks delicious!!
Love this salad! Thank you for also sharing the history behind it.
I used to get Chinese Chicken Salad at The Sidewalk Cafe in Venice Beach. It was not w breaded chicken, nice shredded chicken chunks instead. That dressing was the best. I learned that sesame oil is a favorite flavor of mine!
This salad looks absolutely delicious and beautiful. I love this salad.
This is a really good Asian salad dressing recipe. Actually comes very similar to one of my favorite lunch places for salad. I also tried adding the tablespoon or two of peanut butter to give it more of a Thai peanut flavor which was awesome and it also help thicken it up
I make a similar dressing but I like to mix in a tablespoon or so of Tahini to help thicken and emulsify the dressing. Touch of Mirin for sweetness and rice vinegar for the acidity. good stuff.
In the past I've used hoisin and a little less honey instead of mustard and agave. Def gotta try your version now.
Cant wait to try love the crunchy textures of these ingredients!
looks so delicious making this week!!!
Thank you so much for correcting the page problem. So excited!
I love crunch and that’s when the reasons that I love the salad is so much of it is crunchy but you also get a ton of protein. I think I’ll make those after the holiday.
Great recipe and music, as always, keep up the excellent work. 🙌
Chin Chin on Sunset Blvd made my favorite Chinese chicken salad, and Joans is a great 2nd place.
My favorite Chinese chicken salad is still the first one I had 20 plus years ago in the Bay Area. The greens were so finely chopped and had no dressing. The chicken was lightly seasoned and very finely shredded, not course and not chopped. Each forkful was just an amazingly satisfying experience. That restaurant closed about year after i first had that salad and i have never able to find a recipe quite like it.
Oh my goodness, that looks fantastic! I can't wait to try it; we love salads. My husband and I don't like mustard, so I'll substitute some tahini to thicken the dressing.
Mmm tahini!
It's the crunch and tang baby! Been making a beautiful version of this for decades and it is so addictive. Will def try your version bud. BTW . . . your Stuffing recipe has become quite a hit with friends and family. Stay strong and thanks for the great recipes and passion for food.
Forget salad I am good with chicken and wonton 😋
Thank you for reminding me of the dish I loved so much growing up in LA. I remember Madame Wu's Garden❤️ What a Lady! Here in the South they do chicken about the same way. I'm going to try your wonton method instead of maifun rice sticks. Great detail, very helpful. Gorgeous presentation.
Wow love the idea of this. I used to make a similar recipe in one of my restaurants… so yummy and fresh. I think I used mayo and honey as the base, but can’t remember hehe , was years ago. I would try this for sure
Hey can't go wrong with mail and honey 👍🏻
Love the name of your channel and this recipe, just that I would first wash the lettuces, where I live if I don't do that I can get sick with some kind of bacteria or parasite. But other than that it looks delicious!
I'm with you on washing vegetables. We've just been taught to wash vegetables all our lives, I never imagined people don't. I mean, why wouldn't you?!
Joan’s on Third has the absolute best dressing for the Chinese chicken salad!!
The salad I never knew I needed. Thanks for sharing!!
Man I used to serve this over a decade ago in New Jersey.
The link to the recipe appears to be broken. We love food like this and cant wait to try it.
Yep it’s not showing the recipe.
The recipe is not found on the link or the website. Is it posting soon.
Thank you! I love panko fried chicken, especially in a curry! This sounds amazing!
Salad would be good with Ganny Smith apples and dressing would be good with some miso
That looks absolutely amazing. I’m gonna try that. Thank you for the recipe.
I just made this salad for dinner last night. It's so good.
This looks like a really tasty salad! Your finished chicken cutlets also look like a good starting point for chicken katsu, if one were so inclined.
This is the first time I've ever seen the chicken breaded and fried. Looks delicious. There are so many variations of what others call Wolfgang's Chinois Chicken salad...Some say that he also adds julienned Mango.
Thank you for such a great demonstration! I really appreciate your pro tips like how to totally bread the chicken so well. I made this watching your video and it came out awesome! I was sad I'd run out of Saracha sauce, so I just used about a teaspoon of Valentina hot sauce and it worked! The dressing is to die for!
Loved experimenting and working with an oil frier when working in a restaurant.
Didn't even hate cleaning it.
Hate deep frying at home, though.
I’ve been to this place. The food is delicious!
I made this recipe, it was amazingly delicious! Wonderful flavors and textures. Must try!
Dude you make me hungry every week! Looks amazing I think the key s the sesame oil. You get a a lot of punch with just a little.
That looks like an excellent recipe. Will make it this weekend!
I’m chef I have been working hospitality above 15 years this is the is the perfect Chinese salad thank you to sharing wonderful recipe
Thank you. Be blessed
Thank you for sharing 😊 beautiful!!! Looks so delicious and easy too.😊
I may never make this complete salad, but I will be making that dressing!
Incredible! Simplified and greatly appreciated. Thank you!
I keep coming back to this salad. So delicious 😋😘
That looks effin great! I love your videos 😀
I was first introduced to Chinese Chicken Salad by Pick Up Stix in San Clemente, CA many years ago. Have been addicted to some version or other since then! I will have to try your Dijon mustard in the dressing.
I'm a native Californian (like it matters) but I've been eating this Chinese Chicken Salad all my life - and there are many iterations. This one being my favorite but it's all good! What's not to like about chicken, salad ingredients, asian dressing, some crunchy stuff....Thank you for making this one for us, it's perfection!
That bit about not liking doing the breading but the feeling as the chicken is frying? I feel the exact same way when I make my karaage chicken.
That is a beautiful salad, my friend, yum! 😍❤
Thank you. I will definitely make this salad. I like all of the ingredients.
oh gosh...I can die for this salad ....
Thank you so much for sharing your work. You are by far my go-to and favorite!! Love, Love, Love your channel. I was literally craving this meal. How did you know?? 😂
The Bayonne Golf Club jacket is a power move 💪
Making this for sure! Looks delicious!
This looks delicious and easy, yum!
Wow!! What a delicious salad the chicken was a bit of work, but it looked so worth it yummy 😋
Ya know I have watched a few of your videos but not made many although your turkey was outstanding. After watching this recipe you will be very happy to know I really think you know what you are doing. I really like Chinese chicken salad and your version is by far the best. Nicely done.
He must be so relieved that you think he knows what he's doing (esp since you haven't made many of his recipes). Thanks for checkin' in.
I made this tonight for me and my family was so good. love your show
That’s why I love the way you cook
You just made me love Chinese chicken salad.
I made it last night, glad i used 1.5tbsp of dijon instead of 2-3, also happy i used 1tbsp of sesame oil instead of 2-3 as those were both overpowering. I couldnt get the sweetness to come out no matter how much rice vinegar and mandarin juice i added, i squeezed a fresh one and even used some mandarin pieces in a can with the juice. overall still super tasty
The sweetest in the dressing comes from the agave!
This salad is amazing and will be in our regular rotation year round! Sooo good!
I never use that boxed Italian seasoned bread crumbs. I make my own bread (no knead) and slice it thin to dry a couple of days. Then I run it through the food processor and add the seasoning, Some grown in my yard and some bought.
The only place I've eaten this type salad is at good ole Applebee's and I love the sweet/sour dressing! I'll have to give this a try!
I make a copycat recipe of the Applebees Asian Chicken Salad and it is delicious! I’m eager to compare the two recipes. I have learned being a tad over handed with the sesame oil and rice wine vinegar can totally ruin the dish. I expect he would know how to compensate for that but I’ve never been able to.
@@RowenMyBoat That's great! I don't know that I would tackle making it. Now I'm craving it again and will probably stop one day soon and have one. There's just something about sweet/sour flavors. When you make it, let me know how they compare!🌹
Wow!! 😮. This salad
Yummy 🤤 thank you!!
Like how you tasted and adjusted you rarely see that on UA-cam cooking vids
I do love Asian flavors and am eager to try this one. Thanks for the extra detail on the dressing amounts. :)
Wow Yummy. I can’t wait to try that salad.
Yum yum! Gonna make this soon for a yummy lunch. Even tho it’s winter here in Oz.
i would add some ginger and garlic to the dressing
I totally crave this salad! I remember it always having mandarin orange slices and grilled chicken. And I'm pretty sure the wonton strips were those round ones you used to get at chinese restaurants as a side? I wonder why it was different?
Mandarin oranges would be delicious
Do you think there's only one way to make Chinese chicken salad?
I got my family addicted to this when I was a kid.. I asked for it so much and we ended up making it all the time 😂❤
This is the go-to for me, the best one from restaurant ive had is California Fresh near Westwood, west L.A.
I’m making it now and I have to say I’m impressed that I sliced the chicken correctly. By the way, I love your cooking.
Wolfgang puck add finally sliced fennel. That paste it to another level. Gourmet!
This looks so good i know when i make this ill be eating ir all week.
I made this tonight. I couldn't find radicchio so I substituted broccoli slaw. I don't think it mattered because that dressing would make a shoe taste delicious. Another home run, Steve. Keep 'em coming.
I substitute the radicchio with red cabbage and it was delicious
Beautifully made🤗😋
That looks crazy good. I’m going shopping for ingredients!
Just discovered you. You’re an amazing chef. You’re beyond talented. ❤❤❤
The Mauviel sauce pan looks so handy for deep fry
Legit my favorite salad. And yep, proud Angeleno here. Can attest we love that in Cali.
MmmI'm gonna try this but add some ginger and garlic paste to the dressing! TY
Looks delicious I’ll be making one soon
This looks so delicious, my mouth is watering right now. I can't wait to make this...
For me, I wash and crisp my lettuces. Makes a word of difference. Night and day in a salad.