Crunchy Asian Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing
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This Crunchy Asian Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing is fresh and delicious! Filled with veggies, chicken, and cashews with a sweet dressing. You will love the bright flavors and all the crunch – I love salads with texture and wanted to create a salad with tons of crunch – including wonton strips, cashews, sesame seeds, carrots, and tons of crisp cabbage.
We love Asian-inspired meals in our house – there is so much flavor and texture (and color!) in many Asian dishes.
Lately I’ve been craving fresh salads that really feel satisfying – and realized that crunchy textures add so much satisfaction to a salad for me (like my Chinese Chicken Salad here). When I was coming up with this recipe, I kept adding crunch. I knew I wanted wonton strips but then thought cashews would be great. Then lots of sesame seeds. Then shredded carrots. Combined with the sweet and salty ginger dressing, you will love this salad! It’s one of my new favorites.
Here’s what you’ll need to make this Crunchy Asian Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing:
It is a long ingredient list but very simple to put together! Don’t be intimidated. If you are making this salad for a group or for company, it can be helpful to chop everything ahead of time and store it in airtight containers in the fridge – then when it’s time to make the salad you just need to toss everything in a large bowl.
Another wonderful thing about this salad (and all salads made with cabbage) – is that it holds up well for days in the fridge and tastes delicious as leftovers. Sometimes I’ll reserve a little extra shredded cabbage and cashews to add in as I eat the leftovers, to keep it fresh and crunchy.
Crunchy Asian Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing
Ingredients
Sesame Ginger Dressing
- 2/3 cup olive oil (or other oil will work)
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- juice of 2 limes (about 1/4 cup)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger (I like to use a microplane or very fine grater so the ginger is very finely spread throughout the dressing)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Crunchy Asian Salad
- 4 cups shredded chicken (or other protein) (I used a rotisserie chicken)
- 1/2 head green cabbage, shredded or sliced thin
- 1/2 head red cabbage, shredded or sliced thin
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 2 cups shredded carrots (I used store-bought but if you can't find store bought you can dice them or slice very thin)
- 5 green onions, diced
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped (about 1/2 bunch)
- 1 cup wonton strips
- 2 cups cashews, chopped
Instructions
Sesame Ginger Dressing
- Combine all ingredients, except sesame seeds, in a large bowl and whisk together well for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the sesame seeds last and mix to combine.
- If using right away, pour onto salad. If making ahead of time, store in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge.
Crunchy Asian Salad
- Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl (this salad is very large – you can use two bowls if you don't have one large enough). You can reserve some of the wontons or cilantro if you'd like to use those on top as a garnish.
- Toss well (I like to use tongs), to make sure all the ingredients are well distributed.
- Pour dressing generously over the salad and mix very well. The more you mix cabbage the better the dressing flavor gets into it, so mix it all for a couple minutes so it's well incorporated.
- If desired, top with additional wonton strips and/or cilantro. Serve and enjoy!
- (This salad stores well for 2-3 days in the fridge in an airtight container.)
I hope you get a chance to make this Crunchy Asian Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing – it’s the perfect Main Dish or side to any of my Asian-inspired recipes. Tag me @plumstreetcollective on Instagram if you decide to make this salad. Thanks for reading!
I made this for a group of for a church meeting and it was SO delicious and everyone asked for the recipe. Highly recommend all of your recipes but this is a new fave.
Thank you so much!! I’m glad you love it as much as I do!