Howie’s Chinese Chicken Salad

Howard Bulka
Mar 25
5 min read

Updated: Apr 29

Here is the demo that went viral on Instagram

Please scroll down for the recipe. If you have questions, reach out to us!

The Backstory

The invention of Chinese Chicken Salad is largely attributed to Sylvia Wu, proprietress of Madame Wu’s Garden—a storied Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles favored by Hollywood celebrities and top brass in the movie industry. Her restaurant closed in 1998 after an astounding forty-year run. The recipe for Madame Wu’s much loved Chinese Chicken Salad was published in several magazines and newspapers of the day. It can also be found in her cookbook, “Madame Wu’s Art of Chinese Cooking” which, while out of print, can be purchased used on-line. In any case, the original recipe remains remarkably accessible.

Madame Wu’s Chinese Chicken Salad was a daring departure from the Cobb, Caesar and Waldorf salads, popular in the day. Chicken Salad does not exist in Chinese cuisine. Madam Wu just made it up, brilliantly, to please her calorie-conscious movie star clientele, who I assume had gotten in the habit of eating salad, along with two Martinis, at lunch.

Her salad featured crispy wonton strips and fried rice stick noodles, ingredients that I suspect had never been tossed in a salad before. The dressing called for Chinese hot mustard, sesame oil and five-spice powder. Exotic ingredients in those days. The salad is truly a gem, a charming harbinger of the role ethnic cuisines would play in the future of fine dining in America. A piece of culinary history, if you will. Fifteen years ago, a few days before we opened Howie’s Artisan Pizza, I holed up in the prep kitchen tasked with creating a unique and wonderful Chinese chicken salad for our menu. Madame Wu was my inspiration. Respect.

Howie’s Chicken Salad

Howie’s Chicken Salad is a complicated recipe. Between the dressing and the body of the salad, there is a laundry list of ingredients, at least twenty items. Before your day’s work is done, you will be roasting chicken breast, deep frying wonton skins and emulsifying salad dressing. If all this weren’t fun enough, the recipe requires cutting the veggies precisely, calling for a modicum of knife skills or a whole lot of spare time. To a professional cook or to an inspired amateur, none of these tasks are daunting. For less experienced cooks, preparing Howie’s Chicken Salad might be a good opportunity to learn some useful techniques or simply a bridge too far.

Given the extent of the mis-en-place, I would suggest preparing the chicken breast, the wonton strips and the Hot Mustard Vinaigrette in advance. The recipe for Howie’s Chicken Salad yields one serving. Simply do the math to meet your serving requirements. The Hot Mustard Vinaigrette however, yields one quart, enough to dress 15 large salads. Likewise, the chicken breast and the wonton skins are prepared in quantities greater than one salad. The cooked wonton will stay fresh and crisp for 2-3 days. Store them in a tightly sealed container in the cupboard. The chicken and the vinaigrette can be held refrigerated for five days, easily. We use pasteurized egg yolks in the vinaigrette at the restaurant, but it’s your household and you make the call. To prepare the vinaigrette you will need Chinese Hot Mustard powder. We use S&B Oriental Hot Mustard. It is available at Asian groceries and online. Calabrian chilies in oil are not readily available in supermarkets, but like all things, they are easily purchased online. Any brand will do.

I have included a photo of the products we use at Howie’s for your reference. Also, read the notes on deep frying. Good luck.

Hot Mustard Vinaigrette

Yield Approx. One Quart or 15 Salads

5 Calabrian chilies in oil, stems removed, coarsely chopped

240 grams Distilled white vinegar (do not substitute wine vinegar)

75 grams Dijon mustard

90 grams Soy sauce

35 grams Roasted sesame oil

70 grams Honey

35 grams Pasteurized egg yolks or 2 fresh (large) egg yolks

1 ¼ tbsp. S&B Oriental Hot Mustard

65 grams Sugar

275 grams Canola oil

Place all the ingredients except the canola oil into a bar blender.
Puree until smooth.
With the blender running at a high speed, slowly add the canola oil in a stream to emulsify.
The finished dressing will be smooth and unctuous, the consistency of cream.

Howie’s Chicken Salad

Yields one Large Salad

70 grams Romaine lettuce, shredded ½ inch thick

70 grams Napa cabbage, shredded ¼ inch thick

60 grams English cucumber, ½ inch dice

60 grams Bell pepper, ½ inch dice

Pinch Salt and freshly ground pepper

90 grams Cooked skinless & boneless chicken breast, thinly sliced

65 grams Hot Mustard Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

1 Handful Fried wonton strips, ½ inch thick

3 tbsp. Blanched salted roasted peanuts, finely chopped

3 tbsp. Green onion, sliced thin

3 tbsp. Cilantro, coarsely chopped

To Make the Salad:

Place the first group of ingredients into a mixing bowl.
Add the Hot Mustard Vinaigrette. Toss to combine.
Pile the salad onto the serving bowl/plate.
Place a generous handful of crispy wontons on top.
Place the peanuts on top, fall as they may.
Place the cilantro and green onion on top, fall as they may.

To Cook the Chicken Breasts:

Season skinless & boneless chicken breast pieces to taste with salt and pepper.
Place the chicken breast on lined (bakers’ parchment ) or oiled sheet pan.
Bake in a hot oven for 15-25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
Allow to cool. Refrigerate until it’s cold.
Cut breast pieces (halves) in half horizontally and then cut crosswise into thin slices.

To Cook the Wonton Strips:

Cut the wonton skins into strips approx. ½ inch wide.
Toss to separate.
Cook the strips in hot oil* (350 - 375°F), stirring occasionally, until golden brown (this will take less than two minutes).

*Deep frying in a home kitchen is always a laugh riot, so be safe. Never fill your pot more than halfway with oil. If you have a probe thermometer (and you should) use it to gauge your oil temperature; 350 - 375°F would be the range. Cook the wontons in smallish batches. Have a sieve or ‘spider’ at the ready to fish the strips out of the hot oil. Remove cooked wonton to a wire rack, if possible. You can re-use the cooking oil several times. Simply allow it to cool to room temperature and store in a tightly sealed container.