One of my staple side dishes is Asian Noodles I use linguine for the noodles and it is a hit every time. Sometimes however I take it further and make Asian Noodle Salad
Whether I make my plain Sesame Noodles for a BBQ or gathering at our home or at someone else's home or I make this Asian Noodle Salad, the dish disappears!
I love that this noodle salad is robust, full of vegetables and tasty marinated chicken. I can truly be a meal instead of a side dish. Once I have some, I keep going back for more.
Topping it with peanuts is a delicious idea as well, they give a nice crunch and texture to the dish, in my opinion.
Everything in this Asian Noodle Salad works in concert together. Don't skip the step of marinating your chicken before you cooks it. It is a wow when it comes to flavor.
The above image is from when I originally posted this back in 2009. Below is a recent image.
This Asian pasta salad is wonderful for BBQ's, parties, a girls night in, a simple dinner or to take for lunch. This may look complicated, however, trust me it comes together quickly and it is SO worth it!!
Ingredients
- Noodles (I use linguini for this, however if you have an Asian grocer near you, you can always see what they may have on hand
- Napa cabbage
- Spinach
- Red bell pepper
- Scallions
- Cucumber
- Jalapeno
- Cilantro
- Peanuts (optional)
- Honey
- Soy sauce
- Chili with garlic sauce
- Boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- fresh lime juice
- Brown sugar
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Sesame oil
- Grapeseed/olive oil
Variations
Choose to add in additional vegetable or swap some of what's called for. Things like red cabbage for a beautiful pop of color, carrot ribbons, snow peas, jalapeno slices, radish or whatever you may enjoy. You could swap the chicken for crispy tofu.
If you have a favorite Asian dressing whose ingredients are similar to what's called for here, you can take a shortcut and use that.
Swap the chicken for steak as pictured below, yum!
This salad is best served at room temperature as well as the day you make it.
You can make the components of the salad a day ahead and assemble the day of.
You may also enjoy Asian Pork Meatballs with Ginger Honey Glaze or Copycat PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps.
Recipe originally published in 2009, updated 2022 with a formatted printable recipe card and layout.
Enjoy this one! -Colleen
Asian Noodle Salad
Ingredients
Marinade for Chicken
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 ½ TBS chili with garlic sauce
- 1 ½ pounds pounds boneless chicken breasts (or thighs)
Dressing
- 2 TBS honey
- 1 TBS fresh lime juice
- ½ cup grapeseed, avocado or light olive oil
- 3 TBS sesame oil
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 TBS fresh chopped or grated ginger (or ginger paste)
- 1 large clove garlic minced or garlic paste
- ½ jalapeno pepper
- 1 TBS chili with garlic sauce
- 1 box of linguine noodles cooked according to package instructions then immediately rinsed with cold water - toss with a bit of olive oil to keep pasta from sticking while you prep.
- ½ a head of thinly sliced Napa cabbage depending on size of cabbage, use as much or as little as you will enjoy.
- 2 heaping cups of baby spinach
- 1 red bell pepper sliced thin
- 4 scallions sliced or snipped white and green
- 1 cucumber peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 cup of chopped cilantro if you dislike cilantro you can leave our or sub in flat leaf parsley
- 1 cup of honey roasted peanuts, rough chopped or halved
Instructions
- For Marinade
- Whisk together the 3 ingredients, pour over chicken and refrigerate for 30 minutes up to 4 hours. Tossing every so often.
- Once ready, preheat grill cook chicken over medium-high heat for about 10-12 minutes. Depending on the size and thickness of your chicken breasts / thighs. Flipping once to achieve some nice grill marks. Watch for flames from the honey.
- Let chicken rest a bit then slice down.
- For Salad
- Combine all ingredients with the pasta. Toss well.
- Top with chicken slices and serve.
Alison @ Hospitality Haven says
This looks fabulous! You should add this link to my "Taste the World" meme starting today! We're focusing on Chinese food, and this would fit well. 🙂 http://alison.blogsome.com/2010/02/18/taste-the-world-intro/
mr. pineapple man says
I'll make this too!