Right around March, my body starts craving fresh, raw veggies. We are pretty seasonal eaters in our house, so with the winter comes less variety to my veggie rotation – and I think that is a good thing. Cooked veggies (with friendly fats like butter) are easier on our guts to digest, and it is good to give our bodies a break from foods while we rotate with the seasons! Come spring – bring on the salads…especially this Asian salad.
While I am still a good couple months away from fresh salad greens in my garden, I do have access to some nice late winter and early spring vegetables that make a really great raw “slaw” type salad. Just a simple julienne peeler is all you need (the spiralizers work too if you have one) and you will have colorful strips of veggie that really feel like a noodle indulgence.
I am a big-time Asian cuisine fan and a couple of years ago I put a twist on my Thai peanut sauce and made a salad dressing – it is one of my favorites and it really dresses up this slaw type salad so nice!
This salad makes a fantastic lunch since it is filled with satiating friendly fat from the dressing. You can add chopped nuts/seeds or chicken/tuna to your bowl for added protein if you want as well.
Asian Salad
Ingredients
- 2 carrots julienne, peeled
- ½ daikon radish julienne, peeled
- 1 cucumber julienne, peeled
- ¼ head purple cabbage sliced thin
- 2-3 stalks green onions chopped
- 1 cup Asian dressing or to taste
- red pepper flakes optional garnish
- sesame seeds optional garnish
- watercress optional garnish
Instructions
- Put the dressing in the bottom of your salad bowl.
- Add the veggies and toss with the dressing.
- Add your garnishes if you want!
- Note – the salt in the dressing will pull the moisture from the veggies over time – if you are packing it up ahead of time it would be a good idea to pack the dressing separately and add it to the salad upon eating.
Notes