The Prettiest Asian Noodle Salad Ever
As you all know, I don’t love to cook. It is a chore up there with doing laundry and cutting kids toe nails–not fun–but every now and then I stumble across a recipe that looks too good to pass up. This salad jumped off of Pinterest and spoke to me, “See how pretty I am. I taste delicious too. You need to make me for dinner even though your kids won’t like me at all…” I was hypnotised. All I could think about was making this colorful salad for days. I went so far as to printing off the recipe and placing it on the kitchen island so I wouldn’t forget about it. Well, it worked. I couldn’t stand it anymore so I gave in and bought “most” of the ingredients–there are a lot of ingredients and I always forget something even if I have a list. I began chopping, chopping and chopping some more. Soon my creation was complete…the Prettiest Asian Noodle Salad Ever…and it tasted pretty darn good too.
As I said earlier, I found this beauty on Pinterest by The Pioneer Woman who adapted it from Jamie Oliver.
What you will need for the salad:
Note: I did not use all of these ingredients, yes, some I completely forgot about, but other’s I just didn’t want to bother with or I used something else. I noted on the list below which ingredients I omitted or changed. There is so much in this salad it still tasted wonderful.
- 1 package linguine noodles, cooked, rinsed, and cooled
- 1/2 head sliced Napa cabbage, or more to taste (oops, didn’t use)
- 1/2 head sliced purple cabbage, or more to taste
- 1/2 bag baby spinach, or more to taste
- 1 whole red bell pepper, sliced thin
- 1 whole yellow bell pepper, sliced thin (oops, didn’t use, 2 peppers were plenty)
- 1 whole orange bell pepper, sliced thin
- 1 bag bean sprouts (I used 1/2 of a container of Alfalfa sprouts instead)
- Chopped cilantro, up to 1 bunch, to taste
- 3 whole scallions, sliced (oops, totally forgot, didn’t use)
- 3 whole cucumbers peeled and sliced (I only used 2 which was plenty)
- 1 can (about 10 Oz.) whole cashews, lightly toasted in skillet (oops, didn’t use, but I think would be tasty)
What you will need for the dressing:
- 1 whole Lime, juiced (oops, totally forgot so I used a lemon)
- 8 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons (up To 3 tablespoons) sesame oil
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons fresh ginger chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 whole hot peppers Or jalapeños, chopped (oops, didn’t use)
- Chopped Cilantro
Instructions:
1. Chop and slice all your salad ingredients. Throw all the salad ingredients together…in a HUGE bowl.
2. Mix dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Toss salad to incorporate the dressing into the salad. I used my hands. Note: dressing keeps for up to three days before serving, without cilantro.
3. Serve in bowls.
For a heartier take on the salad and a way to entice the man in you life, add some chicken, salmon, or steak to it. My kids wouldn’t touch this salad though–too many veggies for them. Give them 5 years and they will love it (maybe). That’s okay though, because there is more for me! The Pioneer Woman mentioned that this salad will last a week in the fridge so now I have a date with a pretty salad every day for lunch this week!