Try this Asian Chopped Salad recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1/4 cup green onions chopped
- 1/2 tsp ginger minced
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 small clove garlic minced
- 1 head lettuce chopped (i used green leaf lettuce)
- 1 red pepper thinly sliced
- 1 orange pepper thinly sliced
- 1/2 purple cabbage thinly sliced
- 2 cups edamame or green peas
- 1 cup carrots cut into ribbons or shredded
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 1/3 cup + 1 t unsalted peanut butter
- 1 t soy sauce bragg's aminos or coconut aminos
- 2 t lime juice
- Carbohydrate 4.21085900039081 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 4.02629583334117 g
- Fiber 0.612308318155047 g
- Protein 1.52169720836846 g
- Saturated Fat 0.790707458334335 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (27g)
- Sodium 2.20599166680525 mg
- Sugar 3.59855068223576 g
- Trans Fat 0.209302125003667 g
- Calories 56 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large bowl, mix together the salad ingredients.
- In a small bowl, mix the dressing ingredients.
- Pour the dressing onto the salad and toss well.
Most cooks dump watery dressing directly over the entire bowl ten minutes before serving, which immediately liquefies the cabbage and peppers into a limp pulp. Watery emulsions destroy the necessary crunch by breaking down plant cell walls prematurely through osmosis. Keeping the dressing separate until the exact moment of service prevents premature softening. Store the sliced produce in a sealed container lined with paper towels for up to forty-eight hours to absorb excess surface moisture before assembly.
Peanut allergies or dietary preferences require straightforward swaps without compromising the structural integrity of the dish. SunButter or almond butter replaces the peanut butter at a strict one-to-one volume ratio, though sunflower seed butter may impart a slightly darker tint. Tamari or coconut aminos substitute seamlessly for soy sauce to eliminate gluten while maintaining the required umami depth. Fresh ginger should be microplaned rather than minced with a knife to prevent fibrous stringiness from interrupting the mouthfeel.
Achieving structural variety relies entirely on knife work consistency and component pairing. Cabbage and bell peppers require cutting into uniform two-millimeter strips to integrate evenly with softer elements like thawed edamame. Roasting the cashews at three hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit for eight minutes releases internal oils, providing a warmer, crunchier contrast to the chilled raw vegetables. Salt pulls water out of leafy greens rapidly, so seasoning the chopped lettuce immediately prior to tossing avoids soggy leaves.
Tossing requires mechanical care to distribute thick nut-butter emulsions evenly across dense ribbons of carrots and cabbage without bruising the lettuce. Use wide tongs or clean hands to lift the ingredients from the bottom of a bowl measuring at least twelve inches in diameter. This spatial clearance allows the dressing to coat every surface thinly rather than clumping in heavy pockets. Residual salad keeps for twelve hours maximum in the refrigerator before the citrus juice denatures the green pigments and softens the cabbage entirely.
