Colorful, Flavorful and Healthy: Asian Noodle Salad

Eat the rainbow in this delicious Asian Noodle Salad. It’s colorful, satisfying, healthy and customizable to your taste.

Happy Friday! I have a delicious salad that’s fresh, colorful and healthy too!

It’s make-ahead, can be customized to your taste, scaling it up or down,

and would be a hit at your potluck.

Look at all these colorful veggies. . .like eating a rainbow!

If you’re not crazy about kale, this salad is a great way to eat it as the dressing softens it, making it palatable.

To cut down on prep, I used part of a bag of ready-to-eat kale salad, giving it an additional chop.

The peppers in this Asian salad are sweet, not hot, and are a miniature version

of bell peppers, with fewer seeds but sweeter.

Asian Noodle Salad, Serves 12 or more

adapted from Pioneer Woman

Salad:

8 ounces thin spaghetti

 8-ounce bag julienne/shredded carrots (about 1 1/2 cups)

 6-ounce bag baby sweet peppers, seeded and sliced thinly into rings (about 1 cup)

1 English cucumber, halved and sliced

3 scallions, sliced

1/2 of a bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 head (or more) purple / red cabbage, sliced

1/2 head (or more) Napa or green cabbage, sliced

1/2 bunch kale, leaves torn off the stalks and shredded

2 cups peanuts, roughly chopped, some reserved for garnishing on top of salad

Sesame seeds, optional

Dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup oyster sauce (don’t omit!)

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger

2 tablespoons sesame oil (I used toasted sesame oil but either is fine)

2 to 3 cloves garlic, chopped

To make dressing:

Add olive oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, ginger,

sesame oil and garlic to a pint jar with a lid. Shake well to mix.

For salad:

Cook spaghetti (or noodles of choice) according to the package directions. Drain.

While noodles are warm, toss with some of the dressing so they readily

absorb the flavor and to prevent them from sticking together.

To assemble, mix together noodles, carrots, peppers, cucumbers, scallions,

cilantro, cabbage and kale. Add the peanuts and toss together with remaining dressing.

Transfer to a large platter or bowl. To serve, sprinkle with reserved

chopped peanuts and sesame seeds.

Notes:

We enjoyed this salad last week for dinner with plenty of leftovers for lunch several days. It’s great with the addition of shredded rotisserie chicken for a complete meal. The original recipe says it serves 6 but I found it easily served 12 or more.

Adjust veggies to your taste.  Bean sprouts, zoodles or other spiralized veggies would be a healthy and colorful addition.

Substitute rice noodles for spaghetti for a gluten free option.

This salad keeps well in the fridge for several days, holding up to the dressing with the exception of the cucumber. If making ahead or the night before, I recommend adding the cucumber no more than 8 hours before serving and stirring in the peanuts at the last minute so they remain crunchy.

Toss with additional dressing if it seems dry and don’t omit the oyster sauce!

Thank you for your visit, sharing with:

 Metamorphosis Monday