This Asian Wonton Salad is one of my absolute favorites. It’s the salad that you take to work potlucks and church parties and baby showers and people want to be your friend just because you made it. It’s full of greens and crunchy vegetables and a spectacular sweet and savory sesame dressing. The best part of the salad however, are the pieces of fried wontons. They’re crisp and crunchy and when they get coated in the dressing you’ll be picking them out to snack on.
The recipe comes from two long-time friends, Gisela and Helen, who ran a catering company together. Helen is the mother of one of my best friends, Melanie. I spent a lot of time at their house in my teen years and nearly every time I walked through the door I would find her sweet Dad in his chair in the family room and her smiling Mom in the kitchen with an apron on. I was always just as excited to go see what Helen was cooking as I was to find Melanie and get on with whatever teenage shenanigans we had planned. I’m confident you’re going to love this salad as much as I do!
Ingredients and Equipment Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Dressing
- Rice vinegar – Also called rice wine vinegar. Regular or “seasoned” (just has a bit of salt and sugar) are both fine here.
- Canola oil – Or any light tasting oil.
- Sesame oil
- Fresh garlic
- Soy sauce – I love the Aloha brand! I get it at Fred Meyer, which is a Kroger brand store.
- Granulated sugar
- Sesame seeds – Find sesame seeds with the spices in the grocery store. You can use toasted or un-toasted. If you purchase un-toasted seeds and would like to toast them, just place them in a dry skilled over medium heat and gently stir until golden brown.
Salad
- Greens: The original recipe calls for romaine lettuce, but I love to mix a variety of greens if I have them. Chopped cabbage (red or green) is especially great.
- Cooked, shredded chicken breasts – Rotisserie chicken would work well, too.
- Cherry tomatoes
- Red onion
- Cucumber
- Wonton wrappers – You’ll find wonton wrappers in the refrigerated section in the produce department of the grocery store. They’re square (or rectangle) pieces of thin dough that are used to make wontons. You aren’t adding any filling in this recipe, you’re simply frying the pieces of dough to create crispy strips. Egg Roll Wrappers would be just fine to purchase as well.
- Vegetable oil – You can use any frying oil. Vegetable, Canola, or peanut oil are all good choices.
Equipment
- Pot for Deep Frying: It takes very little oil to fry the wonton wrappers. An inch or two is sufficient. I suggest a pot with sides that are at least 3-4 inches high to avoid splattering oil.
How to Make and Asian Wonton Salad
Fry Wonton Wrappers
- Cut wonton wrappers in into 1-inch strips. Fry, and drain on paper towels.
Make the Dressing and Assemble Your Salad
- To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously until combined.
- Mix greens and chopped vegetables and chicken in a large bowl.
- Drizzle with dressing and toss well. Add fried wontons and toss again. Add more dressing as desired and season with salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
Storing and Other Tips
- Assembled salads are best eaten fresh! If you have leftovers or want to plan ahead, store salad components in the refrigerator (except fried wontons) and build your salads as needed.
- Store your finished dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- From the comment section: Yummy add ins include cashews or candied pecans/walnuts.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to save time and prep ahead do the following steps up to a day ahead:
1. Make dressing and store in a sealed container in the fridge.
2. Fry wontons, let cool completely, and store in an airtight container at room temp.
3. Chop vegetables and shred chicken and store until ready to assemble salad.
If you’d rather not deep fry your wonton wrappers, you can try one of these alternate cooking methods:
1. Bake – Cut your wonton wrappers into strips and arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spray lightly with cooking spray and bake at 400 °F until browned and crispy.
2. Pan-fry – You can pan fry wonton wrappers in a very small amount of oil in a skillet. Cook for a couple of minutes on one side, then carefully flip and cook for a couple of minutes more, until browned and crispy.
3. Air Fry – Spray or brush wonton strips lightly with oil and air fry at 350°F for 3-4 minutes.
You could fry tortilla strips if tortillas are all you have!
Asian Wonton Salad
Equipment
- Pot for frying wontons It takes very little oil to fry the wonton wrappers. An inch or two is sufficient. I suggest a pot with sides that are at least 3-4 inches high to avoid splattering oil.
Ingredients
Dressing
- ⅔ cup rice vinegar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 4 cloves garlic pressed or very finely minced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- ½ cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons sesame seeds
Salad
- 2 heads romaine lettuce or a combination of greens (romaine, shredded cabbage, spinach etc)
- 2-3 chicken breasts cooked and shredded (or 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken)
- large handful cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 1 small red onion sliced thinly
- 1 cucumber sliced
- 1 package wontons
- vegetable oil for frying canola or peanut work great
Instructions
Dressing
- Place all dressing ingredients into a quart jar (or something equivalent) and shake vigorously. If desired, make ahead of time and store in the fridge.
Wontons
- Heat about 2 inches of oil in a pot on the stove top. Use pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut wontons into thirds (about 1" strips). You may not need the entire package, depending on how much salad you're making. I usually use about half of the wonton wrappers. You'll want the oil at about 375℉. Test by dipping a wonton in and seeing if it bubbles up quickly. Fry wontons a few at a time and set on paper towels to dry. These can be made ahead of time and kept in an air tight container.
Salad
- Tear clean lettuce into chunks and place in a large salad bowl. Top with cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber, and red onion. Add shredded chicken and top with Sweet Sesame Dressing. Toss salad together. Once everything is well coated, add wonton strips and gently toss to combine.
Notes
- Assembled salads are best eaten fresh! If you have leftovers or want to plan ahead, store salad components in the refrigerator (except fried wontons) and build your salads as needed.
- Store your finished dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- From the comment section: Yummy add ins include cashews or candied pecans/walnuts.
Questions & Reviews
I just made this today for a potluck dinner and it was a huge hit. Loved it! Thanks so much. I also made your chocolate/berry trifle this weekend for a birthday party and the chocolate drizzle strawberries and cream pie for FHE. All 3 recipes were a hit. You ladies are making me look really good to all my friends!
Can you sub canola for olive oil?
You bet 🙂
My dear friend surprised me with this tonight. It was so delicious that I had a hard time stopping my consumption! the cashews really are a fabulous addition. You know, it always seems when a friend makes something delish and I ask where they obtained the recipe, the response is unfailingly ‘Our Best Bites’! From one Mormon Mom to two others. Well done my sistas!
Question–I just made this asian salad and my dressing turned out dark brown instead of caramel color that you show. I then noticed that the recipe calls for soy sauce, but in your picture it didn’t look like you used soy sauce. Are we supposed to use soy or not? Thanks for all the great recipes!
This post is from two years ago so I don’t remember, but it looks like I may have photographed it before adding the soy sauce! Lol But yes, soy goes in- just 2 tablespoons.
Made it tonight for a family party and it was a HUGE hit! Thanks so much for sharing all your awesome recipes!
For the sesame seed/oil allergy sufferers: Although I make this recipe with toasted sesame oil, you could try substituting hazelnut oil (once open, keep in refrigerator snce it will go rancid quickly). I don’t think walnut oil would work as well as the filbert/hazelnut oil — buy it in the tiniest bottle you can find since it is expensive and a little goes a long way in taste just like sesame oil. You could even sprinkle the salad with toasted chopped hazelnuts, but it would not taste as much like an “Asian salad” any more.
I think those who are saying that the dressing is bland are just getting the oil off the top after it’s separated. If it’s mixed really well, it’s super flavorful!
This is exactly what I’m looking for, but there will be a lot of hungry guys at the party and I’m wondering if you’ve ever topped it with steak instead of chicken? Thanks!
I haven’t Liz, but it sounds good!
Is it wrong that I’ve eaten 3 salads because my slightly adapted version of this dressing is SO delicious? Well, if it is, I don’t want to be right. Delicious post!
good job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!