My Mom's classic Chinese Chicken Salad recipe is a beloved family favorite that showed up at countless church potlucks, backyard BBQs, and gatherings while I was growing up. It's the kind of dish everyone remembered, and always asked for, thanks to its fresh lettuce, tender chicken, and irresistibly crunchy fried vermicelli noodles.

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A Beloved Family Recipe (Chinese Chicken Salad)

Some recipes don't just feed people, they bring them together. Mom's Chinese Chicken Salad with crispy fried vermicelli noodles is one of those dishes I'm so proud to have here on the site!

Growing up, this salad was a staple on our camping trips, summer BBQ's, church potlucks, and countless other gatherings. Everyone loved this salad and it was usually the first bowl folks devoured at the table.

Unlike my mom's Quick Chinese Chicken Salad recipe (which is excellent btw) this version is especially unique because it uses fried vermicelli noodles for an irresistible crunch --- with fresh lettuce, toasted almonds, and sesame seeds.

This salad is finished with a simple, perfectly balanced dressing made from basic pantry essentials like avocado oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and a touch of sugar. And while humble in its ingredients, it brings a delicious mix of savory and tangy flavors with just enough sweetness to tie everything together.

Watch Me Make It With Mom!

Ingredients You Need For Mom's Chinese Chicken Salad

Iceberg lettuce- This is a key ingredient that gives the salad texture and a fresh crunch.
Chicken- Shredded cooked chicken or a rotisserie from the grocery store for a faster more convenient option.
Rice noodles- Make sure they are vermicelli rice noodles so they fry up light and crisp.
Toasted almonds and sesame seeds
Green onions
Dressing- Avocado or a mild flavored oil, white vinegar, soy sauce (liquid amino for gluten-free) sugar, salt, and black pepper.
Oil for frying noodles.

Ingredients displayed for Mom's Chinese chicken salad. Iceberg lettuce, shredded cooked chicken, green onions, vermicelli rice noodles, toasted almonds, toasted sesame seeds, avocado oil, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, salt, ground black pepper.

Highlighted Tips

Cook the chicken ahead of time. Pre-cooking the chicken eliminates a step on the day you make the salad, or you can save time by using a rotisserie chicken.
Prepare the rice noodles in advance. Mom often fried the vermicelli noodles a day or two ahead when making this salad for an event-then all that's left is assembling everything.

How To Make Chinese Chicken Salad Recipe

Prepare the dressing by combining sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and salt in a small saucepan. Heat on low until sugar melts then pour in a mason jar and add oil. Set aside to cool.

sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and salt in a saucepan.

Dressing mixed in a mason jar for Chinese Chicken Salad.

Shallow fry rice noodles in a pan with oil until just puffed, then transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.

uncooked rice noodles for Chinese chicken salad

Fried rice noodles on a plate lined with paper towels for Chinese chicken salad

Combine the lettuce and cooked rice noodles in a large bowl. Use your clean hands or tongs to break up noodles and toss with the lettuce.

Lettuce mixed with cooked rice noodles for Chinese chicken salad

Assemble the salad- add chicken, almonds, sesame seeds, green onion, and pour all the dressing over the toppings. Toss to combine and serve!

Lettuce and noodles combined with chicken, almonds, sesame seeds, green onions, and dressing for Chinese chicken salad.

Mom's Helpful Tips

Make sure oil is almost smoking hot before you add your rice noodles. They should puff up instantly and only take a few seconds per side. Test one noodle before you start frying your batches.
For a short-cut, use broken, uncooked ramen noodles in place of the rice noodles for a quicker option.
Don't worry if your rice noodles turn brown or golden when frying. This will add extra toasty flavor to the salad.
Use shredded cabbage instead of lettuce if you want the salad to last longer as a leftover.
Cold, cooled chicken has the best texture for this salad.

Prep and Make Ahead Suggestions

Lettuce, chicken can be prepped up to 24 hours ahead.
Fried vermicelli noodles can be prepped and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Dressing keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Will This Salad Still Be Good Leftover?

The short answer is, yes! Mom would never waste anything-especially Chinese chicken salad. That said, because this salad is made with lettuce, it won't be quite as fresh and crunchy the next day. Even so, the flavors are still delicious, and it's absolutely worth enjoying a second day.

Why Are My Noodles Chewy After Frying Them?

The rice noodles should be light and crispy. If they are chewy, it's because they didn't fry long enough, or the oil was not hot enough when you placed them in the pan. They should instantly puff and sizzle the second they hit the hot oil.

Chinese chicken salad in a serving bowl with a fork.

This is truly a special salad and one you'll find yourself coming back to often. It's simple at heart, but just different enough to surprise people the moment they take their first bite. Every time I get to enjoy it, I'm reminded of my mom and all the gatherings where this salad brought people together. It's the kind of recipe that quietly becomes a favorite, not because it's flashy, but because it's made with care, tradition, and a whole lot of love. I love you mom!

Mom's Chinese Chicken Salad

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: American, Asian

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 30

Servings: servings

Calories: 412kcal

Equipment

large deep pan
small saucepan
small mixing bowl or mason jar
large bowl

Ingredients

Salad

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded, about 3 cups or use a rotisserie from the grocery store
1 medium head of lettuce, chopped or shredded, about 5 cups
4 green onions, sliced
½ cup sliced toasted almonds
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
4 cups fried vermicelli rice noodles about a ¼ of an 8 ounce package uncooked

Dressing

4 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 tablespoon white vinegar
½ teaspoon soy sauce, low sodium
2 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup avocado or vegetable oil
½ teaspoon black pepper
avocado or vegetable oil for frying noodles, about 1 ½ cups

Instructions

Make Dressing

To a small saucepan combine sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, and salt. Turn the heat to medium-low and stir until sugar dissolves. Do not allow to boil. Remove from the heat and pour into a mason jar, then add oil and black pepper. Allow to cool completely while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Fry Rice Noodles

To a large deep pan add enough oil to go ½ inch up the sides. I use avocado oil but any mild flavored oil will work. Heat over medium high heat until the oil is almost smoking hot. Test the oil with a rice noodle. If it puffs up instantly, the oil is hot enough. Fry the noodles in small batches, using tongs to flip (it should only take 3-4 seconds per side) then transfer each batch to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess grease. Noodles should be light and crisp. Allow to cool.

Assemble the Salad

Add lettuce and cooked noodles to a large serving bowl. Use clean hands or tongs to combine together. This makes it much easier then trying to combine all the ingredients at once.
Next add the rest of the salad ingredients---chicken, almonds, sesame seeds and green onions. Place a lid on your mason jar and shake dressing well. Pour over salad and toss to combine. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

If your rice noodles brown a little that's okay! It will only add flavor to the salad.

Make sure the dressing and rice noodles have cooled before assembling the salad otherwise it will wilt the lettuce.

Prepare the rice noodles up to two days in advance and keep in an airtight container. This makes preparing the salad easy and effortless.

The dressing is intentionally light; those who prefer more may wish to double it.

Serve rice noodles on the side to keep them crisp, especially for leftovers

See post for additional tips and suggestions.

This salad can potentially feed up to 10 people with other sides and salads at a potluck or BBQ.

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be understood as an estimate rather than a guarantee. The Menu Maid makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Nutrition

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Mom's Chinese Chicken Salad (With Crispy Fried Vermicelli Noodles)