Asian Crunch Salad

Take your salad to the next level with this Asian crunch salad recipe loaded with vegetables, topped with this nutty, earthy toasted quinoa, and dressed in a delicious Asian salad dressing.

As many of you know, I love salad. So, I'm constantly trying to create unique salad recipes to keep my love alive. So, today I'm making an Asian crunch salad for dinner. Even though many people think salad is boring, the more creative the salad recipe, the better. And this Asian crunch salad recipe with Asian salad dressing turned out precisely as planned. 

Jump to:

• Asian Crunch Salad Ingredients
• Asian Crunch Salad Ingredient Substitutions
• Quinoa Topping
• What is Toasted Quinoa?
• How to Wash/Rinse Quinoa
• How to Toast Quinoa
• Asian Salad Dressing Ingredients
• Asian Salad Dressing Ingredient Substitutions
• Recipe FAQs
• Tips
• More Healthy, Tasty Salad Recipes! 
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

First, it's all about combining ingredients to create a salad that wows the family. Since I'm a true salad lover, I often eat salads several times a day or, at minimum, serve a side salad at dinner. However, getting my family to eat salads daily presented a challenge until I created exciting ways to include raw vegetables in salad recipes. 

This Asian crunch salad, for instance, disappeared in minutes when placed in the center of the dinner table last night. 

Asian Crunch Salad Ingredients

As with all fabulous salad creations, the ingredients, or combination of ingredients, makes or breaks a salad. Select ingredients you like and skip the ones in recipes you don't like. 

• Kale: Kale is a nutrition superstar due to the amounts of vitamins A, B6, C, K, folate, fiber, carotenoids, and manganese it contains. One cup of raw kale has just 20 calories. Chop kale finely for the best results.
• White Cabbage: white cabbage is wonderful – sweet, mild, and earthy with a light crunch. It's also incredibly versatile – it can be shredded and eaten raw in salads or coleslaw.
• Red Cabbage: In comparison to green cabbage, red cabbage contains 10x more vitamins, cancer-fighting flavonoids, and a winning amount of antioxidants which improve eye, teeth, bone, & immune health.
• English Cucumber: English cucumbers have fewer seeds and are less watery than regular cucumbers.
• Baby Bell Peppers: Baby bell peppers come in various colors, and they are sweet, like red bell peppers.
• Carrots: Shredded carrots are a natural ingredient in an Asian crunch salad recipe.
• Shelled Edamame: Shelled edamame is called mame. Shelled edamame can be found in the produce section or frozen.
• Green Onions: Regarding flavor, scallions have the sharp, somewhat-spicy, peppery flavor that white and yellow onions produce. This makes them a nice substitute for small amounts of chopped onions in a pinch.

Asian Crunch Salad Ingredient Substitutions

• Collard greens or Swiss chard replace kale in this Asian crunch salad recipe.
• Green or Napa cabbage work well instead of white or red cabbage.
• Persian cucumbers are similar to English cucumbers in salad recipes.
• Try red bell peppers instead of baby bell peppers. Or, for a sharper taste, use green peppers.
• Any parsnip substitutes for shredded carrots in salad recipes.
• Chickpeas or garbanzo beans are other good alternatives for edamame due to their texture.
• Skip the green onions, and substitute them for spring onions with a lot more sweetness, making them a good stand-in for sweet onions.

Quinoa Topping

• Quinoa: I used white organic quinoa, but any colored quinoa works well.
• Sunflower Seeds (optional): Sunflower seeds are a source of many vitamins and minerals that can support your immune system and increase your ability to fight viruses. However, skip this ingredient if you avoid seeds and nuts.

What is Toasted Quinoa?

Recently, I learned how to toast quinoa rather than cook it in water for a crunchy salad topping. Now that I've toasted quinoa, I'm obsessed.

As crazy as it sounds, I've never heard of toasted quinoa. But then, last week, while eating at one of my favorite vegan restaurants, I ate this great nutty mixture on top of a casserole; when I asked what this wonderful nutty mixture was, I learned about toasting quinoa. So, I tried it myself. So, now, I'm hooked. 

Although most quinoa is prewashed, washing quinoa removes a funky bitter-tasting substance called saponin. Since rinsing quinoa is the prequel to toasting it, washing it for toasted quinoa is part of the process. 

However, if the quinoa is prewashed, rinsing quickly versus prewashing is a quick remedy to washing the quinoa. 

How to Wash/Rinse Quinoa

The first step in toasting quinoa is to wash or rinse it.

• If using prewashed quinoa, measure the quinoa, transfer it to a medium-sized bowl, and fill it with water.
• Next, pour the contents into a fine-mesh sieve, then rinse the quinoa again with fresh water and set aside.
• When using unwashed quinoa, measure it and place it in a bowl.
• Then, fill it with clean water and allow it to soak for approximately 20-30 minutes.
• Now, you can use a wire whisk to swish the quinoa around to remove the soapy residue from the quinoa.
• Next, pour the contents into a fine-mesh sieve, then rinse the quinoa again with fresh water and set aside.

How to Toast Quinoa

Once the quinoa is washed or rinsed, it's time to toast it. 

• Using a large non-stick pan, heat the pan to medium-low. Put the rinsed quinoa into the saute pan, creating a thin layer. Shake the pan to level out the quinoa. 
• Once the quinoa gets hot, the water is absorbed, and the quinoa starts making a popping noise.
• Keep moving the quinoa around the pan with a wooden spoon until the quinoa grains start to brown. It browns quickly, so don't leave it unattended. 
• When the quinoa is brown and smells nutty, please remove it from the pan from the heat and allow it to cool completely. 
• Store it in a container with a top in the refrigerator.

Asian Salad Dressing Ingredients

Like all my salad recipes, this easy recipe for Asian crunch salad dressing is oil-free, d tasty, and healthy. I used my favorite carrot ginger dressing.

• Carrots: Carrots possess a natural sweetness that blends well to form the base of a dressing.
• Ginger: I used fresh ginger root.
• White Miso Paste: White miso paste is made from soybeans fermented with a large percentage of rice. The resulting color can range from white to light beige, and the miso has a sweet taste.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar is a type of vinegar derived from the bacterial fermentation of apple juice. Apple cider vinegar has a sour, vinegary taste with bright notes of sweet cooked fruit.
• Rice Vinegar: Rice vinegar is less tangy and acidic than white vinegar, with a subtle sweetness.
• Maple Syrup: Maple syrup sweetens the dressing instead of using refined sugar.
• Water: Water thins the dressing and acts as an emulsifier instead of oil.
• Salt: Salt enhances the flavors of the dressing.
• Pepper: Fresh ground pepper adds level of flavor.
• Sesame Seeds (optional): Sesame seeds add a crunch to the dressing and a nutty flavor.

Asian Salad Dressing Ingredient Substitutions

• Parsnips, squash, beets, and celery are the most common carrot substitutions for roasting or raw-eating.
• If you don't have fresh or ground ginger, use a 1:1 ratio of ground allspice, ground cinnamon, ground mace, or ground nutmeg to the amount of ground ginger called for.
• Yellow miso paste is often used to substitute white miso in recipes.
• The closest match to rice vinegar's sweet-to-sour ratio is apple cider vinegar. Both are milder and share a subtle sweetness. Unsurprisingly, apple cider vinegar has a hint of apple flavor, but it's quite subtle and translates to some dishes more than others, like pickling recipes.
• Agave or date syrup substitutes maple syrup in this Asian salad dressing.

Recipe FAQs

Tips

• One of the best aspects of salads with cabbage is dressing the salad ahead of time without worrying about it wilting.
• The next day, dressed cabbage salads taste just as good or better than the day they are made. 
• Toasting quinoa brings out its authentic nutty flavor. The texture becomes toasted and crunchy and nutty delicious. 
• Frozen-shelled edamame should be cooked and cooled before adding it to the salad.
• Do not add the toasted quinoa to the salad until ready to serve.
• Shelled edamame in the produce section is already cooked.
• Carrot dressing lasts for 1 week refrigerated.

You will love this unique Asian crunch salad recipe topped with toasted quinoa and served with a delicious Asian salad dressing.

More Healthy, Tasty Salad Recipes! 

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