Asian Noodle Salad

Asian Noodle Salad – coleslaw, linguine, chicken, and fried wonton strips covered in a delicious homemade Asian dressing! It’s great for BBQs and any Asian meal.

This recipe is really versatile because you can bring it as a salad to a BBQ or potluck, or serve it as a side for a Chinese dish! Similar to Asian Pasta Salad and Asian Coleslaw, Asian Noodle Salad is a great crowd pleaser!

Perfect side for bbq’s!

We have several places close by that we love to order a Chinese Chicken Salad from – BJ’s, Habit Burger, Applebee’s… we love them all.

We recently saw a Chinese salad recipe in an old cookbook that included noodles, so we knew we had to give a try with our own little twist. Filled with fried wontons, edamame and veggies, we had a feeling it would be good—and it was!!

It’s different than the other salads we’ve tried because it has the linguine, but the taste is similar and oh so good. We changed it up a bit, by using coleslaw and other seasonings. It has now become a go-to for BBQs and Asian meals.

How to make asian noodle salad + dressing

This pasta salad is easier to make than you’d think!

DRESSING. Begin with the dressing by mixing together sugar, soy sauce, sesame seeds, allspice and rice wine vinegar in a large jar. Cover and shake vigorously for 2 minutes until well blended.

Add oils and shake for another 3 minutes, or until oils are emulsified into the vinegar. Chill for 2 hours, at least.

SALAD. Put together the noodle salad by mixing the linguine, chicken, coleslaw, edamame, carrots and veggies in a large bowl. Mix well. Once dressing is done chilling, pour over salad and mix well.

Garnish with fried wonton wrapper strips and additional sesame seeds if needed.

How to deep fry wonton wrappers: Frying your own wontons is pretty easy. Simply heat about an inch of oil in a pan on medium high heat on the stove. Cut the wrappers into strips (we use kitchen scissors for this).

Fry several wontons at a time for about 15-20 seconds on each side or until golden brown. Remove and place on a paper towel or wire rack to drain and cool. Sprinkle with a bit of salt.

Tips & Tricks for this Salad:

• Don’t rinse the noodles: Warm pasta absorbs the dressing better than cold pasta does
• Give it time to blend: Once the salad has been assembled, store it in the fridge for a couple hours and allow the delicious flavors to blend.
• Cut veggies julienne style
• Make a rainbow using colored veggies: purple cabbage, orange carrots, green edamame or broccoli, red/yellow bell peppers. Use whatever you feel will give a visual feast as well as a flavor feast!
• Tastes great cold or at room temperature making this a great picnic or lunch box meal

Salad Substitues + FAQ

Linguine substitutes: Because linguine is slim and flat, it absorbs sauces well making this an ideal noodle. If you don’t have linguine or would like to try something else, some comparable noodles would be: unflavored cooked ramen, rice flour noodles, spaghetti noodles, vermicelli noodles, or spaghettini noodles.

Chicken substitutes: You can use small pieces of steak, shredded pork, or shrimp. To make it vegetarian, you could use tofu, boiled eggs, or an omelet cut into strips.

How to grill chicken breast? For boneless skinless chicken breast you’ll want to cook it over medium heat on a charcoal grill and high heat for a gas grill. Grill on each side for 7-8 minutes, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Make ahead. You can either make a completed Asian noodle salad the day before, or prepare all the components to assemble before serving. Either way I’d recommend making this at least a couple hours ahead of time to allow all of the flavors to settle in. I’d also recommend reserving a little bit of the sauce to add right before serving to freshen it up.

Leftovers. Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days. If it gets a bit dry mix a little rice vinegar and some soy sauce together and add it to the salad. It’s best to leave off the wontons if storing because they get soggy.

For more asian salad recipes, check out:

• Asian Citrus Chicken Salad
• Asian Pasta Salad
• Asian Chicken Cranberry Salad
• Asian Coleslaw
• Chicken Lettuce Wraps
• Asian Ramen Salad

Adapted from “Grandma Sues cooking book”