Asian Crunch Salad with Sesame Dressing {Soy Free}

Are you craving a delicious and refreshing salad more than just lettuce and a dressing? You need to try this Asian Crunch salad with sesame ginger dressing. It is packed with flavors and textures. It is vibrant, light and satisfying at the same time. You can add your favorite protein on top and enjoy it as a healthy lunch or weeknight dinner.

My dad makes a crazy good, yet simple salad similar to this one – loaded with crunchy and fresh vegetables, packed with tangy, sweet, and savory flavors.

So I decided to make my own twist using the ingredients available to me that I can pick up from my local grocery stores or farmers market.

You will find a delightful textural contrast in this salad, from the crispy veggies to the creamy edamame, and the tender veggies to the crunchy roasted cashews.

Ingredients for making Asian Crunch Salad

Like most salads, this Asian crunch salad has three main components: Vegetables, salad dressing, and toppings!

There are many veggies listed here that are interchangeable with other types of veggies you might prefer. Growing up, my dad’s crunch salad has always been very colorful. He’d ensure there are green, red, orange, and more colorful veggies.

Veggies:

Green and Purple Cabbage are the base vegetables that make up the crunch. They need to be thinly sliced. The thinner they are, the more flavors they can soak up.

Raw Carrots add that satisfying crunch, mildly sweet, and earthy flavor.

Red Pepper provides a different kind of crunch, a little softer, more tender and sweet. “Just a little bit for the color” as my dad would say.

Cucumber has a mild melon aroma that is so refreshing! Another type of crunchy vegetable, my favorite one yet! If you need a salad starring cucumbers, try my Chinese spicy cucumber salad!

Cilantro provides a pungent herby taste that adds a unique layer of the flavor profile of this crunch salad.

Dressing:

Sesame Ginger Dressing is what i choose to use for this recipe. It has all the beautiful flavors: sweet, savory, tangy, and umami.

Toppings:

Edamame beans are sweet and savory, with a hint of nuttiness. They are a little creamy, a little crunchy. I love adding them to the salad as a delicious topping.

Toasted Cashews are even more crunchy and more flavorful than the raw ones. You can use salted or unsalted ones. I also love spicing it up with the honey sesame cashews from Trader Joes.

There are so many customizations you can do. These are the ingredients I choose to use. And I will provide you with more suggestions for ways to customize to your liking.

How to Make Asian Crunch Salad

The Best Way to Thin Slice the Vegetables

Mandoline Slicer is the quickest and easiest way to get even slices of these crunchy vegetables.

But it may be a bit more work to clean and require more storage space in the kitchen.

Sharp Knives are definitely my dad’s choice. If you have watched my Instagram story from when they were living with us last year, you know that my dad has the knife skill of a professional chef.

Although this is the most accessible and common tool every household has, it could take a while to slice through all the vegetables. It is also hard to control uniformity of the slices.

Box Cheese Grater usually comes with multiple sides with different sized holes, which is perfect to get even and thinly sliced carrots, cucumber and some other crunchy vegetables.

Other Ingredients to Add to this Salad

I know it might already seem to be a fiesta here with all the colors and typs of vegetables, but if you are looking to spice things up or switch up the veggie rotations, here are some ideas.

Protein

If edamame is not your thing, you can use your favorite grilled chicken, or seafood like salmon or shrimp. This salad is also delicious to serve as a side to your main course or enjoy it on its own as a light lunch.

Vegetables

Napa Cabbage: Traditionally, my dad uses napa cabbage for this recipe. It is super delicious and has a bit more of a tender texture on top of the crunchiness.

So you can use napa cabbage but keep in mind that it will let out a lot more liquid once salted. So it is best to add salt to napa cabbage and let it sit for 10 minutes to daw additional liquid out.

Bean Sprouts: if using, I like to give it a quick blanch to reduce the “raw flavor”. Simply add bean sprouts to boiling water for a minute then remove it. Rinse with cold filtered water.

Shredded Broccoli

Crunchy Toppings

• roasted cashews or peanuts
• roasted sesame seeds
• broken up dry ramen
• crispy wonton

Summer Fruits for a burst of sweetness and acidity

• Mandarin oranges
• Mangoes
• Asian pears

How to Store Asian Crunch Salad

Similar to many other salads, this Asian crunch salad is the best enjoyed immediately after mixing in the dressing.

Storing it with the salad dressing already mixed in could lead to soggy salad because the salt in the salad dressing draws moisture out of the vegetables.

Here is a tip to meal prep the salad so you can have lots of “leftovers” that do not get soggy.

Slice and mix together all the vegetables. Whisk together the dressing in a jar. Save them separately. And dress the salad when you are ready to eat.

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