Copycat Houlihan's Asian Chicken Salad Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Where did the Asian chicken salad come from? ›

The owner, Sylvia Cheng Wu, who was born in China in 1915 and moved to the States after WWII, created the salad at the request of one her regulars, Hollywood star Cary Grant. This salad was made up of chicken mixed with fresh vegetables that were topped with sesame oil, soy sauce, mustard, and other seasoning.

Most chicken salad dressings are a combination of mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. The rest of the flavor for this dish comes from ingredients like celery and fresh herbs.

Toasted Almonds – Toast your sliced almonds to bring out more of the nutty flavor. Parsley – One of the best herbs for adding to salads, just finely chop up a few tablespoons. Tarragon – The best secret ingredient! You'll be amazed at how much flavor just a little bit of tarragon adds to the salad.

It's loaded with succulent pesto marinated chicken, smoky salami (or bacon), juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, tangy pepperoncini, fruity Kalamata olives, punchy red onions, buttery mozzarella and creamy avocados all tossed in a vibrant pesto dressing.

In Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads, Sylvia Lovegren writes, "There are many different types of cold chicken salad in China, although most of them seem to originate in Szechwan.

Invented by Sylvia Cheng Wu also known as Madame Wu in the 60s and made popular by the original celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, The Chinese chicken salad has become an obsession in California, especially with celebrities. It's not hard to see why.

All white meat, shredded chicken, finely minced celery, mayonnaise, & our secret seasoning.

Choose low-moisture ingredients whenever possible. Select boneless, skinless chicken breasts over thighs, and opt for low-sodium canned chicken when bulkier meats are called for. Soak up the moisture. Try toasting your nuts, fruits, or vegetables before adding them to the salad.

Lack of Seasoning: One of the most common reasons for bland chicken salad is insufficient seasoning. Make sure to add enough salt, pepper, and other seasonings like herbs and spices to enhance the flavor. Overcooking the Chicken: Overcooked chicken can become dry and lose its flavor.

To offset the creaminess (and potentially wetness) of too much mayo, try adding in more of whatever crunchy element you were using. Celery and red onion are some of the most common ones, but you can also try chopped red peppers, bacon bits, carrots, cabbage, apples, chopped nuts, and more.

What enhances chicken flavor? ›

Marinating not only adds flavor, but the combination of healthy fat and acid in most recipes also helps tenderize the meat. A good marinade is roughly three parts oil to one part acid, plus salt and other seasonings like spices, crushed garlic, or a little natural sugar.

Waldorf salad is named for the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City, where it was first created for a charity ball given in honor of the St. Mary's Hospital for Children on March 13, 1896.

It was adopted by Jewish immigrants to the Levant in the late 19th century, who found the locally grown Kirby cucumbers and tomatoes in popular local salad. It was popularized in the kibbutzim, where the Jewish farmers had local fresh produce at hand. The name Israeli Salad is used mainly outside of Israel.

The foundation of a Greek salad consists of cucumbers, tomatoes, and bell peppers, all of which are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. These vegetables are known to support overall health and are especially beneficial for maintaining clear skin and good digestion.

Stacy Brown and her husband Kevin Brown founded Chicken Salad Chick in 2008 in Auburn, AL. The business idea came out of her love for making and serving chicken salad, a recipe that was passed down from her grandmother.

The classification of today's chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) recognizes its primary origin, the Red Junglefowl. Domestication probably occurred 7,000-10,000 years ago in Southeast Asia and Oceana.

Stacy Brown founded Chicken Salad Chick in her very own kitchen, earning her the title of The Original Chick.

In the video, Cleveland native Tanisha Godfrey has a chicken salad in front of her and says, “Y'all better come up here and get one of these.” Someone off camera asks her what it is, and she responds, “It's a chicken salad," then shares where she got it from ("81st Deli … superior") and what's in it.