Bringing a few Asian-inspired flavors into your salad is a surefire way to ensure there are no leftovers! Crunchy Mandarin Salad follows that advice and brings the tasty results straight to your tastebuds! The smooth dressing alone is enough to write home about, infused with savory soy sauce, tangy rice wine vinegar, and sweet hoisin sauce. But what happens when it’s drizzled over a salad loaded with juicy mandarin oranges and crunchy almonds, as well as ramen noodles serving as the croutons for extra noise? It becomes something else altogether! Crunchy Mandarin Salad is salad taken to the next level, and you’ll think twice before making a plain old Ceasar knowing you could have this instead!
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 3 cups romaine or iceberg lettuce
- 2 cups red cabbage, shredded
- 2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
- 1/2 cup jarred mandarin oranges, drained
- 1 packet instant ramen, crushed, flavor packet discarded
- 1/2 cup carrot, shredded
- 1/3 cup green onions, sliced
- 1/4 cup almonds, sliced
For the dressing:
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Directions
Step 1 –In a large bowl, toss together the lettuce, the red cabbage, the chicken, the mandarin oranges, the crushed ramen noodles, the carrots, the green onions, and the almonds.
Step 2 –In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, the honey, the sesame oil, the hoisin sauce, the soy sauce, the ginger, and the garlic.
Step 3 –While whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the vegetable oil until emulsified.
Step 4 –Drizzle the dressing over the salad, tossing to combine.
Step 5 –Serve.