Every time the weather starts warming up, my body starts craving fresh, crisp veggies (as opposed to the belly-warming soups that I crave in winter). Anyone with me?? So I recently decided to whip up one of my all-time favorite salads.  It is a Korean cold noodle salad, and I like to make this for potlucks too because it is easy to make in bulk, and just so visually appealing!

I like to use my julienne slicer for the carrots and cucumbers, but other than that, there really isn’t any special equipment required.

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Ingredients

6 ounces soba noodles (other options: somen, vermicilli, or buckwheat)
1 large carrot, julienned
1 cucumber, julienned
Romaine lettuce, thinly sliced
Mint, just the leaves
1/2 a red onion, thinly sliced
Watercress, roughly chopped

This recipe is so flexible, you can use any greens you have on hand. Some others I’ve used in the past include thinly sliced red cabbage, lightly sautéed bean sprouts, thinly sliced bell peppers, and alfalfa sprouts. And if you’re going low/no carb, simply omit the noodles and add some protein.

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Dressing

3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons Korean red chili pepper flakes (gochugaru) (optional)
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons orange juice (or apple or any other fruit juice)
2 tablespoons vinegar (adjust to taste)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

The dressing is key to this recipe, and is what makes this salad a standout amongst other salads. Most of the “required” ingredients are easily found. One time I ran out of sesame oil, so substituted with olive oil and it still tasted good. So play around with this recipe… it is versatile, delicious, and so aesthetically pleasing!