Asian Inspired Noodle Salad

A summertime salad packed with a rainbow of vegetables and tossed in a delicious Asian inspired dressing. This recipe is a great alternative to the more traditional pasta salads that make their usual appearances during the summer months.  The salad is full of different and wonderful crunchy textures and the dressing is so fantastic.  The flavor profile is very similar to what you would find in a stir fry sauce; soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, ginger and garlic.  All of those delicious flavors mixed in with a bit of oil and a little sugar for balance tie everything together really nicely.

This recipe has been on my 'to try' list for a couple of months now.  That list has been growing extra long lately and I wanted to stock pile some recipes for the blog, so I invited a bunch of family over to be my guinea pig taste testers.  I made a few different new dishes, all of which be coming to the blog shortly, but I think this recipe was the biggest success of the day.  We demolished almost the entire platter in a matter of minutes! So good!  Please let me know if you give this beautiful, fresh noodle salad a try; it will surely be crowd-pleaser.

Asian Inspired Noodle Salad

2 small cucumbers, halved, seeded, and sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1/3 small red cabbage, sliced thinly
4 large kale leaves, stemmed and sliced thinly
2 large carrots, grated
1 handful bean sprouts
1/2 cup lightly salted or unsalted peanuts, chopped
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
8 oz cooked, cooled spaghetti

Dressing
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 to 2 tbsp sesame oil
1/8 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp oyster sauce (optional)
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced

Add all of the prepped vegetables, herbs, and pasta into a large bowl.  Feel free to change up the quantities or types of vegetables and herbs depending on your preferences.  Put all of the dressing ingredients in some kind of container with a tight fitting lid, like a mason jar, and shake really well to combine.  Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and give it a big toss.  Chill for at least 2 hours to let all of the flavors come together.  You can garnish with additional chopped herbs and peanuts, if desired.

Enjoy!

Inspired by The Pioneer Woman