Asian Noodle Salad

I’ve been making all sorts of salads this summer, but the one I keep coming back to is this Asian noodle salad.  You can really use any “salad ingredients” you have to hand, pretty much anything goes with this dressing. For this version in the photo, I used mostly spinach, peppers and bean sprouts, but other times I have used a combination of carrots, shredded cabbage, cucumber and kale. You don’t have to search out special “asian” noodles either… I’ve had this with spaghetti noodles and it’s been great as well. I know summer is pretty much over, but salad season is still on for me.

INGREDIENTS:
salad:
300g spinach leaves
one red pepper, thinly sliced
one yellow pepper, thinly sliced
200g bean sprouts
200g bean thread noodles, soaked as per package instructions
250g grilled chicken breast, sliced
15g fresh cilantro
15g fresh basil
10g fresh mint
1/4 cup chopped roasted nuts (cashews or peanuts)

dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 to 3 cloves garlic, chopped

PREPARATION:
Make the dressing by placing all dressing ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth.
Remove all of the tough stalks from the fresh herbs and tear them into a large salad bowl. Add the remaining salad ingredients to bowl and dress to your liking. Sprinkle chopped cashews or peanuts on top of salad, if desired.

Serves 6.