The History of Chinese Chicken Salad

Sylvia Cheng Wu, better known as Madame Wu, immigrated to the United States from China during World War II. After marrying in New York, she and her family moved to Los Angeles. In 1959, she opened the 40-seat Wu’s Garden in Santa Monica. The restaurant served dishes like Peking duck and bird’s nest soup. Known for the good food and Wu’s charming personality, it soon became an immediate hit among celebrities — regular guests included Mae West, Robert Redford, Frank Sinatra, Mia Farrow, Elizabeth Taylor, and Cary Grant. One night, Grant told Wu about a distinctive chicken salad he’d had at an unnamed restaurant. Eager to impress the star she loved so much (Grant had been one of her favorites as a young girl), Wu set to work creating her own version of a chicken salad, which included chicken thighs or drumsticks tossed with sesame oil, soy sauce, mustard paste, and Chinese five-spice seasoning paired with crispy vegetables. While some scholars note that Chinese chicken salad was not a new concept, it is undeniable that the dish didn’t take off until Madame Wu popularized it. Later, many celebrity chefs created their own versions of Wu’s dish, most famously Wolfgang Puck, who served a “Chinois chicken salad” at his own restaurant, which was just down the road from Wu’s Garden. Today, Chinese chicken salads are a staple of Chinese-American cuisine, though modern versions typically have more dressing than Madame Wu’s original version, which was essentially undressed.