RecipesHow to Make an Asian Salad
Asian Salad Recipes
In an attempt to create a more heart healthy menu, McDonalds introduced salads for a short time, including the now discontinued Asian Salad. Though there was little authentic value in the McDonalds version, the popularity of Asian Salad recipes began to rise considerably after the introduction of this pop culture variety, and with that fame came healthier, more varied alternatives that can be prepared easily by anyone.
Asian salads are similar to other types of salads, except that they have various ingredients that have them leaning more toward Asian cultural influence. For example, like in all salads, the salad is going to have a dressing. Yet the choice of dressing in most Asian Salad recipes is very likely to be some form of Asian inspired dressing, such as shiitake-sesame vinaigrette or some type of soy related sauce.
In addition, almost all Asian salads are going to have some form of meat. The most common meat is going to be chicken, though seafood is not uncommon, especially shrimp. The dressing you choose should match the meat that you choose, so there is a little bit of leeway to experiment with different types of flavors. For those that do not eat meat, adding fried tofu is a good replacement.
Asian salad recipes also often include noodles. If you are going to add noodles to your salad, your best bet is to look for Asian noodles such as Udon or standard ramen noodles. Because most people cook this type of salad for the health benefits, you may not want to use noodles as they are typically fried.
The vegetables used in Asian salads also vary, however, at least a few of them will be Asian inspired such as bok choy, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, or Chinese baby corn.
Along with the standard lettuce, carrots and mushrooms. Shitake mushrooms are also popular. You may even want to add lesser known items like bamboo shoots, though these are more commonly found in pasta and meat dishes than salad. Still, they are a unique taste and texture, and they may add to your meal. Onions and scallops are also popular items.
Overall, Asian salad recipes allow for a great deal of personal choice, as there are no specific ingredients that make an Asian salad. Though you can adjust the ingredients you put in your salad so that they appeal more to those that prefer the tastes of the East, the reality is that an Asian salad is most likely to be some tasty variety of regular salad with a little bit different dressing, meat and a few extra vegetables to make it stand out in terms of flavor and personality.