Asian Noodle Salad

This delicious salad can be eaten hot, warm or cold, and can be an entrée in itself since it’s so hearty! It’s full of colorful veggies, and it's tossed with a sweet ginger dressing. This dish is open to variations, so please see the Notes section for ideas.

Asian Noodle Salad

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• Total Time: 50 mins
• Yield: 4 to 6 (makes about 8 cups salad; ¾ cup dressing) 1x

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Ingredients

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• Sweet Ginger Dressing:
• ½ cup orange juice
• 3 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
• 1 clove fresh garlic
• 1½ teaspoons finely chopped ginger
• 1 ounce pitted Medjool dates (about 2 dates)
• Noodles:
• 8 ounces rice spaghetti pasta (see Notes)
• Salad vegetables:
• 3 cups broccoli florets
• 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced on diagonal (about 1½ cups)
• 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced (about 1¼ cups)
• 4 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
• 2 cups thinly sliced Swiss chard
• 4 green onions, sliced (about ¾ cup)
• 1 cup cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
• Sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

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Instructions

1. Place all dressing ingredients to a small blender jar. Set aside.
2. Prepare and chop all vegetables for the salad, with the broccoli, carrots, and bell pepper in one bowl; the cabbage, chard, and green onions in another bowl; and cilantro in its own small bowl.
3. Boil the noodles according to the package instructions in a large sauce pan or soup pot. When done, drain and rinse the noodles and set aside.
4. While the noodles are cooking, you’ll cook the vegetables. In a large soup pot on medium-high heat, add ¼ cup of water, and when it starts to sputter, add the broccoli, carrots, and bell pepper. Cook while stirring for about 3 minutes.
5. Add another ¼ cup water to the soup pot of vegetables, along with the cabbage, chard, and green onion, and cook while stirring for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until the cabbage begins to be translucent. Remove from the heat. Add the cilantro and cooked pasta to this pot.
6. Blend the dressing, and then pour it to the pot, and stir well. This can be served immediately (hot), or warm or cold. If desired, garnish with white sesame seeds and/or chopped cilantro.

Notes

Noodles: I don’t use gluten in my recipes, so I typically use brown rice pasta (not wheat); but feel free to use any type and shape that you like.

Additions: You can add and substitute with other ingredients, such as: mung bean sprouts, cauliflower instead of broccoli (or both), fresh green peas, mushrooms (shiitakes would be great), cooked edamame (soy beans), celery (cut on the diagonal looks cool), and red cabbage.

Instead of cilantro: You can also use basil or parsley.

Spicier: If you want to add a spicy kick, add ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes to the dressing, or add some seeded and sliced jalapeno peppers in step 4.

Garnish: I like white sesame seeds as a garnish, but slivered or sliced almonds would also be great.

Less sweet: If you’d like a dressing that is less sweet, you can use lime juice instead of orange (or half and half), and/or decrease the dates by one.

• Prep Time: 40 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Above: The prepared broccoli, carrots, and orange bell pepper (at left). I like slicing the carrots, bell pepper, and green onions on the diagonal like they do at Chinese restaurants.

Above: The prepared Swiss chard, cabbage, and green onions.

Above: At left, the white sesame seeds and chopped cilantro. On the plate are all five of the ingredients for the dressing: brown rice vinegar (with the bottle/brand I used just above it), chopped ginger, orange juice, a clove of garlic, and two pitted Medjool dates.

Above: This time I used brown rice bow-tie pasta and an orange bell pepper (instead of red, in the top photo, which I think looks most eye-catching). The dressing is very "sheer," for lack of a better word, but it's on there! Enjoy!