Sesame and Ginger Noodle Salad

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Summer is salad season and you just can’t make them as as fast as you need them. Between barbecues, graduations, baby and wedding showers, and church potlucks, you need a good salad or two to add to your repertoire. Here’s something fresh and new to help you get through the summer.

This Sesame and Ginger Noodle Salad is bright, fresh and deliciously packed with plenty of veggies. This recipe makes one great big salad, big enough to carry you through several meals. Make it for dinner, take it to lunch, use it as a side – there’s plenty to go around here. 

There are quantities listed for each ingredient, but feel free to use as much, or as little, of anything that suits you. Omit and adjust to make this your way. Being able to do this is one of the things I like best about cooking at home. Get out your sharpest knife and let’s get to slicing and dicing! 

I love buying kale fresh and in a big bunch from the produce bin. It lasts a long time, but it does require a little extra effort on your part. Make sure to wash it thoroughly: other hands have been touching it, it can still have dirt in it’s crevices, and there’s the iffy misting water that I hope someone is monitoring. Give it a good soak in a salad spinner, or a strainer set inside a bowl of water. Pull the inner basket/strainer out, then give it a good rinse. 

Use what you need for this salad, then put the rest of your cleaned greens in a resealable bag with a clean paper towel, prepped and ready for a quick salad later. As a side note, I also omitted the 1 cup of bean sprouts that were originally in this recipe as fresh sprouts have been associated with food-borne illness recently. I think there are plenty of other veggies to go around here, so why take a chance? I used half of an English cucumber cut into small cubes and 4 Persian (mini) cucumbers, cut similarly, for variety, but you certainly can stick to one kind of cucumber if you like.

I used Banza chickpea spaghetti to make this gluten-free. Nutrient-dense, protein-packed and delicious, it has 50% more protein, 3 times more fiber and 25% fewer carbs. Made from only four ingredients: chickpeas, pea protein, tapioca and xanthan gum, it has a chewy, toothsome texture and a mildly nutty taste. The delectable dressing is easy to make and depending on how much you use, you may even find enough left for another salad or two. Make it gluten-free by using tamari and unless you happen to have it, just skip the oyster sauce. I made mine without it and found the flavor to be just fine. 

If you don’t have rice wine vinegar, you can swap apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar, but I love the mild, slightly sweet flavor of rice vinegar so much, I always keep some on hand. I used 2 teaspoons garlic powder in my dressing because it’s a bit milder than fresh garlic and I find that it distributes the flavor more evenly. You can use 2 to 3 cloves of minced garlic instead, if you like. 

Ever since I found out that you can freeze fresh ginger, I’ve been keeping it on hand in my freezer. You can pull it out when you need it and grate it easily straight from the freezer, using only what you need and freezing the rest. Don’t have fresh ginger? Ground ginger from your pantry will work here, too. Taste your dressing and adjust as needed so it tastes the way you like it. 

The variations on a theme are endless and there’s plenty of room for improvisation. Try rice noodles (also gluten-free) in place of the thin spaghetti, add Thai basil or mint in lieu of the cilantro, swap the peanuts out and use cashews or toasted slivered almonds, or how about adding chopped mango or green papaya for a tangy sweet element?  

This salad was ridiculously delicious as is, but on day two I gave my bowl a few shakes of coconut aminos and a liberal sprinkling of Trader Joe’s furikake seasoning. This gave it an almost California roll flavor, and it was even better than day one.  

Summer’s almost here, so get ready with all those warmer weather dishes for the sunshiny days to come. 

Sesame and Ginger Noodle Salad

Salad

• 8 ounces thin spaghetti
• 1  8-ounce bag julienne/fine-cut carrots (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1  6-ounce bag baby sweet peppers, seeded and sliced thinly into rings (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 English cucumber, cubed
• 4 Persian (mini) cucumbers, cubed
• 3 scallions, sliced
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 head or more napa cabbage, sliced
• 1/2 head or more purple cabbage, sliced
• 1/2 bunch kale, leaves torn off the stalks and shredded
• 1 cup peanuts, coarsely chopped

Dressing

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce or tamari 
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons chopped, or grated, fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

For salad:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti to al dente according to package directions. Drain, rinse and let cool.

In a very large bowl, combine carrots, peppers, cucumbers, scallions, cilantro, napa cabbage, purple cabbage and kale; toss to mix, then add the cooked spaghetti and toss again. Add the peanuts and lightly toss.

For dressing:

Whisk together the olive oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, sesame oil and garlic powder in a medium bowl. Pour dressing over the salad using as much of the dressing as you like, and mix together with tongs or clean hands. Transfer to a large platter and serve.

-adapted from foodnetwork.com