Chicken Oriental Dip Appetizer Recipe

Chicken Oriental Dip is an unusual combination of ingredients that makes an awesome party appetizer. It’s been over ten years since I first made it and it’s one of those recipes that has been requested time and time again by my husband.

He has requested it for every party we’ve hosted.

What Goes Into Chicken Oriental Dip

Chicken Oriental Dip starts with a base of softened cream cheese, layered with cooked and shredded chicken mixed with cashews, carrots, green onions, garlic, parsley, and ginger. Then, sweet and sour sauce is drizzled on top.

It’s a combination of textures and flavors that make this appetizer so unusual and interesting. Here’s more about the role of each ingredient in the recipe:

The Cream Cheese Base

Use full-fat cream cheese rather than reduced-fat, otherwise, the dip will get soft and runny under the weight of the chicken. Soften the cream cheese at room temperature for about 30-45 minutes before spreading into the serving dish.

You can also place the cream cheese without the wrapper in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds. Cream cheese that isn’t soft enough will tear and become lumpy.

Rotisserie Chicken

Rotisserie chicken is convenient and flavorful. It’s already cooked and has seasoning built-in that enhances the recipe.

Remove all the skin and bones and dice the chicken into small, even pieces. Dicing the chicken into even-sized pieces ensures an even distribution of chicken onto each cracker bite.

Cashews and carrots give the dip its “bite”. Cashews give the dip a buttery “crunch” and the carrots add a crisp “crunch” to each bite.

Dice the cashews and carrots into small, even pieces similar to the size of the chicken.

Green Onions and parsley add a mild savory flavor and a touch of color and “brightness” to the recipe. Dice them into small, even pieces similar to the size of the chicken.

The Ginger, Measure This One Carefully

The ground ginger adds a hint of warmth to the recipe. It’s important to carefully measure the correct amount of ground ginger (¼ teaspoon), otherwise, the dip’s flavor will be ruined.

If you have fresh ginger, you can substitute for the ground ginger. Add 3 Tbsp minced fresh ginger in place of the ground ginger.

Fresh ginger isn’t as strong as ground ginger.

Garlic adds savory flavor to the recipe. Use fresh garlic instead of garlic powder.

Normally, I wouldn’t recommend using fresh garlic in a recipe that won’t be served the same day. But in this recipe, the fresh garlic mellows out overnight and melds nicely with the other ingredients.

It gives the chicken mixture a savory depth of flavor.

Sweet and sour sauce is what gives Chicken Oriental Dip its Oriental flair. Try not to substitute another sauce.

Look for sweet and sour sauces like Duck Sauce, Kikkoman, or La Choy. Avoid the ones that say “marinade” on the label.

They’re a little thinner and not as flavorful. Drizzle sweet and sour sauce on top of Chicken Oriental Dip just before serving.

If you add it earlier, the chicken mixture will absorb the sauce. It’s much better when it stays on top and adds another dimension of color and flavor to each bite.

How to Make Chicken Oriental Dip

Softened cream cheese is spread across the bottom of a glass serving dish. Chicken is mixed with the remaining ingredients and layered over the cream cheese.

The dip is refrigerated overnight so all of the flavors meld together. The raw garlic mellows out and infuses throughout the chicken.

Sweet and sour sauce is added to the dish just before serving. Serve with crackers and watch them disappear before you can set the table.

Guests will be curious about the dip since the combination of ingredients are somewhat unusual for most. But, rest assured they’ll be requesting the recipe before leaving.

If there’s one dip that guarantees empty plates when I’m having people over, it’s this easy to prepare Chicken Oriental Dip.

I guarantee this appetizer will disappear no matter who’s at your party, men, women, they all love this recipe. My husband is a HUGE fan.

I promise you’ll LOVE this recipe. It’s one of those recipes you make ahead of time by mixing the chicken and chilling it, then when guests are about to arrive you can layer it all together and drizzle on top.

It’s super easy to make.

Step 1: Mix the Chicken Topping and Refrigerate

This recipe takes 4 steps, over a span of two days.

Mix the chicken, carrots, cashews, garlic, green onion, parsley, and ground ginger in a bowl and refrigerate overnight. You CAN make this mixture a few days ahead of time.

It won’t lose its flavor at all.

Step 2: Spread the Cream Cheese

Softened Cream Cheese makes this next step EASIER. If you leave the cream cheese blocks in the fridge, this step will take a lot of muscle.

Spread the cream cheese leaving an edge, like pictured below.

Step 3: Layer the Chicken Mixture

Spread the chicken mixture over the cream cheese. At this point you can refrigerate until guests are about to arrive.

Then drizzle with sweet and sour sauce and serve. You could even spread the cream cheese on the dish and chill a couple of hours ahead of time.

However, I’ve found if you make the entire thing ahead of time, it’s not as pretty since the sweet and sour sauce seeps in and you lose those pretty layers.

Step 4: Drizzle the Sauce and Serve

I recommend serving with Triscuits, Club crackers or sturdy rice crackers, as some of them crumble under the dip’s weight.

Swap Questions I Get Every Time I Make This:

• Can you make this recipe nut-free? ABSOLUTELY. If you leave out the pecans or cashews and add about 1/2 cup of water chestnuts, it’s nut-free. You’ll still get that crunch factor but won’t change the flavor at all.
• Can you make it with canned chicken? Of course, just make sure you drain the heck out of the canned chicken. You want to make sure there’s not too much liquid since that’ll make your toppings soggy. I like rotisserie chicken better than canned.
• Can you use Teriyaki Sauce in place of sweet and sour? Yes, it’s a little less sweet.
• Can you use fresh ginger? Yes, it’ll take more fresh ginger, I’d say at least 3 T. The recipe calls for 1/4 tsp. ground ginger.

Make-Ahead Timeline and How Long It Keeps

• Makes: serves 10 as a side/appetizer
• Total time: about 20 minutes over 2 days
• Keeps: this dip will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. I wouldn’t recommend freezing, I’ve found that the texture of the cream cheese turns out a little grainy upon defrosting.

Other Party Appetizers That Go Just as Fast

If you LOVE dips as much as I do, try my Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe next. It’s perfect to have sitting alongside this Oriental Dip, as one’s warm and spicy and the other cold.

You could even opt for another cold layered appetizer, my Taco Dip Recipe is pretty darn good, and takes hardly any effort on party day. If you’re looking for a salsa that’s bright, sweet, spicy, oh-so tasty, check out my recipe for Cranberry Jalapeño Salsa next.

Give this unusual and delicious Chicken Oriental Dip recipe a try at your next get together. You’ll be glad you did.

Chicken Oriental Dip

This easy to prepare Chicken Oriental Dip disappears FAST when I’m having people over. It’s a MUST for parties and potlucks.