Gordon Ramsay’s chicken salad sandwich is the Chinese chicken salad from his Idiot Sandwich book (2025). Shredded roast chicken is folded into a five-spice spread made with Kewpie mayo and hoisin. It’s piled into a baguette with a honey mustard slaw, mandarin oranges, cashews and crispy wontons. It makes 4 sandwiches and takes about 35 minutes.
The book grew out of his “idiot sandwich” sketch on late-night TV. In the foreword he says nothing tastes better than “a sandwich you make yourself after service.”
You don’t need to roast a chicken for this one. The book says a store-bought rotisserie chicken or last night’s leftovers will do, so it comes together on the fly.
Gordon Ramsay’s Chinese Chicken Salad Sandwich
Course: LunchCuisine: AsianDifficulty: Easy4
30
minutes6
1300
kcalGordon Ramsay’s chicken salad sandwich recipe from Idiot Sandwich (2025), page 56: a five-spice chicken salad with hoisin and Kewpie mayo, a honey mustard slaw and fried wontons on a baguette. These ingredients make 4 Chinese chicken salad sandwiches.
Ingredients
- For the five-spice chicken spread:
1 cup (240ml) Japanese mayonnaise, such as Kewpie
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 pound (450g) roast chicken, shredded, skin removed
kosher salt and ground black pepper
- For the honey mustard slaw:
½ cup (120ml) rice wine vinegar
¼ cup (60g) Dijon mustard
â…“ cup (80ml) soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons chopped pickled ginger
¾ cup (180ml) neutral oil
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
a pinch of red chile flakes
3 cups thinly sliced napa cabbage
½ cup julienned carrots
½ bunch scallions, thinly sliced
one 15-ounce (425g) can mandarin orange segments, drained
â…“ cup cashews, toasted
- For the crispy wontons:
2 cups (480ml) neutral oil
10 wonton wrappers, cut into ½-inch strips
kosher salt
- To build:
two 8- to 10-inch baguettes, cut in half lengthwise
¼ cup picked cilantro sprigs
Directions
- Make the spread: Mix the mayonnaise, hoisin, five-spice powder and scallions in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Dress the chicken: Combine the chicken with ¾ cup of the spread. If it seems dry, add more spread a little at a time. Season, then set aside or chill for up to 2 days.
- Make the slaw dressing: Combine the vinegar, mustard, soy sauce, honey and pickled ginger. Slowly whisk in the neutral oil, then the sesame oil. Season with a pinch of salt, pepper and chile flakes.
- Toss the slaw: Put the cabbage, carrots, scallions, mandarin segments and cashews in a large bowl, add the dressing, toss and adjust the salt.
- Fry the wontons: Heat the oil in a large pot to 350°F (175°C). Fry the wonton strips in batches for 2 to 3 minutes, turning them often, until golden brown. Lift them onto paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
- Build: Spread the five-spice spread on both halves of each baguette. On the bottom half, layer the chicken salad, the slaw, the wontons and a sprinkle of cilantro. Put the top on and cut each baguette in half to make 4 sandwiches.
Notes
- The fried wontons keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Calories are about 1,300 a sandwich. Most of them come from the Kewpie mayo and the oil in the slaw dressing.
FAQs
Where does Chinese chicken salad come from?
California. The book calls it maybe “the original fusion food”, born in the 1960s among the Hollywood set, who loved their salads.
The book keeps close to that original concept, with napa cabbage, mandarin oranges, cashews and fried wonton strips. The one change is turning it into a sandwich, “cause that’s what we do best.”
What bread can I use instead of a baguette?
A crusty Italian loaf or ciabatta. The book’s bread guide says a baguette is best with hearty fillings, and this one is piled high.
The rule behind it is to match the bread to the filling. A saucy filling on thin white sandwich bread just turns into a mess. For a wrap, the same chicken salad and slaw roll up in a large flour tortilla.
Can I make it ahead?
Yes, most of it. The five-spice chicken salad keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days, and the fried wontons stay crisp in an airtight container for 4 days.
Build the sandwiches just before you eat them, so the wontons stay crunchy.
Does Gordon make a classic creamy chicken salad too?
Yes. His mayo and yogurt dressing with celery salt and lemon, from Cooking for Friends, is in his chicken salad recipes, along with his warm chicken salad.
That one has no hoisin or five-spice, so it’s the one to choose for a plain chicken salad sandwich with celery.
Do I need Kewpie mayonnaise?
Yes, the recipe asks for Japanese mayonnaise, such as Kewpie. It’s made with egg yolks only, so it’s richer and a little tangier than most American mayo.
Regular mayonnaise works if that’s what you have. Add the spread to the chicken a little at a time, as the book says, until it’s as moist as you like.
Zaytouna Studio Team is the kitchen team behind Chef Ramsay Recipes. We cook Gordon Ramsay’s recipes from his cookbooks and videos in a home kitchen and write them up for yours, with US and metric measurements.