Name: Asian Chopped Salad
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: comments
Ingredients: 1/2 cup sliced almonds; 2 tablespoons sesame seeds; 1 romaine heart, chopped; 2 cups shredded cabbage (about half a medium head of cabbage); 1 cup shredded carrot (2-3 medium carrots); 1 red bell pepper, chopped; 3 green onions, sliced; 2 cups mushrooms, chopped; 2 cups snap peas, chopped; 2 - 11 ounce (312g) cans mandarin oranges, drained; 1 - 3 ounce package (85g) ramen noodles, broken into pieces (discard seasoning package); 7 ounces (200g) dry chow mein noodles; 2 cloves of garlic, minced; 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced; 3 tablespoons soy sauce; 1/4 cup brown sugar; 2 tablespoons sesame oil; 2 tablespoons rice vinegar; 1/4 cup canola oil

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This Asian chopped salad is the perfect dish to bring for a potluck! Or make it for a family meal side dish and have lunch leftovers for a few days!

This Asian chopped salad is one of my favourite salads ever. I love it.

But I don’t make it very often because the recipe makes a boatload of salad. And my kids don’t really like it all that much.

They eat it. But they don’t really enjoy it.

My husband and I love it though, and look at the kids like they’re insane when they don’t want enormous helpings with their dinner.

Mostly because they are rather insane to not love this salad.

It’s so good.

My mom used to make this salad all the time to bring to potlucks when I was a kid and I always loved it. Most people have probably had some version of it at a potluck at some point in their lives. There always seems to be one.

But this one is my favourite.

Perfect for potlucks. Perfect for dinner. Perfect for lunch for a week if your kids don’t like it and you have lots of leftovers.

Chopped lettuce, snap peas, red peppers, green onions, cabbage, mushrooms and carrots for salad

How do you keep chopped salad fresh in the fridge?

If you keep the dressing, and any crunchy components of the salad (in this case the sesame seeds, almonds, ramen noodles, and chow mein noodles) separate, chopped salad will keep well in the fridge for 3-5 days.

This chopped salad requires a fair bit of prep work with lots of vegetable chopping, so I usually make it ahead of time.

As long as the dressing and nuts/noodles are kept separate, it’s fine to make it ahead. Just mix in the dressing and crunchy components right before serving.

Do you peel ginger before grating?

You don’t need to peel ginger before grating with a microplane grater, but I generally do.

The easiest way to peel ginger is to scrape the peel off with the edge of a spoon. It comes off very easily.

The best way to always have fresh ginger on hand is to cut the ginger root into 1 inch pieces, and then store all the pieces in the freezer.

You can grate or mince it straight out of the freezer for your recipe.

How do you mince fresh ginger?

Mincing fresh ginger is very easy. Slice the ginger root into thin pieces.

Then lay the pieces flat in a pile and slice them into thin matchsticks.

Turn the pile of matchsticks the other way and slice across them to mince it finely.

What should I serve with Asian chopped salad?

This salad is perfect for a potluck, as it makes an enormous bowl.

You can definitely make just half a recipe if you’re serving it for your family though, or have lots of leftovers for lunches. If you know you’ll have leftovers, don’t mix everything together though as the noodles will get soggy when kept in the fridge.

Simple grilled chicken or pork chops go great with this salad. You can find 7 chicken marinades here or 9 pork chop marinades here which gives you lots of options.

The honey ginger pork chop marinade, soy pork chop marinade, or teriyaki chicken marinade would all go very well with this salad.

How to make Asian Chopped Salad:

This salad is very easy to make, but does take a fair amount of prep work. All easy, but there’s a bit of chopping involved! Everything can be prepped ahead of time though, so that all you have to do during the crazy dinner hour is toss it all together.
This is a pretty adaptable salad, so if there’s something you don’t like, just leave it out, or replace it with another vegetable you do like!
The recipe as written makes an enormous salad, which is perfect for a potluck, but a little large for a family meal. Plan on leftovers for lunch, or make half a recipe if you don’t want boatloads of salad.
I love this shaker from Tupperware for mixing up the salad dressing. Add everything, shake it up, and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to mix up the salad.

Here are some more great salad recipes for you:

Yield: serves 10-14

Asian Chopped Salad

This Asian chopped salad is the perfect dish to bring for a potluck! Or make it for a family meal side dish and have lunch leftovers for a few days!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

For the salad:

1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 romaine heart, chopped
2 cups shredded cabbage (about half a medium head of cabbage)
1 cup shredded carrot (2-3 medium carrots)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 green onions, sliced
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
2 cups snap peas, chopped
2 - 11 ounce (312g) cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 - 3 ounce package (85g) ramen noodles, broken into pieces (discard seasoning package)
7 ounces (200g) dry chow mein noodles

For the dressing:

2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Spread the almonds and sesame seeds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 5 minutes. Set them aside and let them cool.
In a large bowl, combine all of the salad ingredients.
In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and canola oil for the dressing until well combined.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
Serve immediately.

Notes

If you want to make this salad ahead of time, combine all of the salad ingredients except the almonds, sesame seeds, ramen noodles, and chow mein noodles, cover, and keep it in the fridge. Mix up the dressing and refrigerate it separately. When you are ready to serve the salad, add the almonds, sesame seeds, and noodles and toss with the dressing. If the components are kept separate it keeps well for up to 3 days.

Once mixed together this salad is still okay for a day or two, but if you think you will have leftovers, add the sesame seeds, almonds, and noodles to your individual servings at the table, instead of mixing them in, as they absorb the dressing and go soggy very quickly if left in the salad in the fridge.

Source: Adapted from one of my mom's recipes.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1/12 salad
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 264Total Fat: 15.4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 394mgCarbohydrates: 27.7gFiber: 4.2gSugar: 10.2gProtein: 5.9g

Nutrition Information is estimated based on ingredients used and may not be exact.

Mary Rowbotham

Tuesday 25th of May 2021

Checking ingredients before making for the first time. Are the ramen noodles cooked or left crunchy. This might sound like a silly question, in image it is hard to tell. Sounds tasty. looking forward to the finished product.

Stacey

Yes, the noodles are left crunchy, just break them up, no cooking needed!

Megan Coleman

Monday 29th of June 2020

Made this salad last night for a friend's birthday dinner. Today I'm sending everyone the recipe because it was a huge hit. Only change I made was swapping out mushrooms for edamame.

So glad you liked it!

mimi rippee

Monday 2nd of September 2019

Lovely. I love salads like this because they take more time to eat and enjoy than to actually prepare! Crunch crunch crunch!