This Asian Side Salad is as versatile as the name suggests – it’s a terrific fresh salad that will pair with any Asian food! From Chinese to Japanese, Thai to Vietnamese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Korean and Taiwanese, it’s right at home alongside fiery Asian curries as it is with a Chinese BBQ Pork, Thai Chicken Satay or Chicken Fried Rice.
Asian Side Salad
Unlike many Western cuisines, there are actually not that many “side salads” in Asian cuisines. There are pickled vegetables and small vegetable dishes that make up part of a larger banquet. And in many South East Asian cuisines, you’ll often find dishes like Thai Fried Rice are served with some plain, undressed wedges of tomato and cucumber which provide welcome freshness and juiciness.
But there’s actually not that many side salads that are quick to throw together to add greens into a meal.
So while this Asian Side Salad isn’t an authentic recipe associated with any cuisine in particular, it’s a terrific salad with authentic Asian roots. The Dressing is so good you can literally use it to dress any veggies and it will be delicious!!
What goes in the Asian Dressing
Here’s what you need for the Asian Dressing. The rice vinegar can be substituted with cider vinegar, and you can omit either the garlic or ginger and it will still be fabulous.
For a simple alternative Asian dressing, try this simple Asian Sesame Dressing.
What goes in the Asian Salad
And here’s what I put in the salad. Though in all honesty, as mentioned above, you can literally put any raw salads with the Asian Dressing and it will be fantastic!!
The Crispy Fried Shallots are store bought and they are shallots that have been deep fried until crispy. They make a terrific garnish for salads and makes a regular appearance around here! Found in the Asian section of supermarkets but cheaper at Asian stores.
What to serve with Asian Side Salad
This is a terrific salad that will pair really well with all things Asian! In fact, I cannot think of any Asian dish that I wouldn’t serve this salad with. Here are a few suggestions:
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Chicken Fried Rice, Thai Fried Rice or Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice)
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Asian noodles like Chow Mein, Pad See Ew or Thai Drunken Noodles
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Browse all Asian recipes
– Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Asian Side Salad
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (light or all purpose, not dark soy)
- 3 tbsp peanut oil (or canola, vegetable or other neutral oil)
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar (sub cider vinegar)
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp ginger , minced
- 1 clove garlic , minced
Salad:
- 120 g / 4oz mixed leafy salad greens
- 250 g / 8oz cherry tomatoes , halved
- 1/2 red onion , finely sliced
- 1/4 cup crispy fried shallots (Note 1)
Instructions
- Shake Dressing ingredients in a jar.
- Place Salad ingredients except fried shallots in a bowl. Drizzle with Dressing and toss.
- Sprinkle with fried shallots and served immediately!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Yes my hand is that small. Yes his paw is that big!! 😂
Hi Nagi! I plan on making this with your mother’s wonderful gyoza but cannot find fried shallots locally. You suggest shopped cashews as a replacement. Would you suggest salted or unsalted? Thanks so much.
Hello: Just wondering if this salad would work with arugula?
Love the recipe ideas on your site – everything tastes delicious 😋
Hello: Do you think this recipe would work with just arugula?
Thanks 😊
I love finding new recipes on your website – always tasty
The salad is so simple yet so delicious! My partner has declared it the best salad ever made on Earth haha
Made this salad to go with Massman Lamb shanks and Thai fried rice. As we aren’t keen on raw onion, replaced with chunks of cucumber. The dressing is excellent (guests wanted to know what was in it) and don’t omit the crispy fried shallots!
I love that I can always find what I need on your website Nagi….asked to bring a “leafy salad to go with Asian flavoured tuna”….winner! Congratulations on the book too…it is brilliant.
Very tasty! Thanks so much for the recipe Nagi, have made it twice now and it’s definitely one of the best salad recipes out there!
So yummy! I made it as a side dish but was tempted just eat the salad! The dressing is absolutely delicious and so easy to throw together.
Hi Nagi, I want to make the salad dressing for your recipe “Asian Side Salad”, however If all I have is dark soy should I still go ahead? Thank you!
Hello: Do you think this recipe would work with just arugula?
Thanks 😊
I love finding new recipes on your website – always tasty
No sorry! Dark soy is quite different – it won’t work here! N x
I made this with an ahi tuna dish and it was sooo good.
The dressing was delicious and everyone loved it. I am glad I discovered “recipetineats”. The recipes are simple to follow and very tasty. Thanks Nagi!
Thanks Nagi for the Asian Salad, another fabulous recipe from you. Delicious. I substituted lime juice for the rice vinegar last time and that seemed to work well too.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Robyn! N x
Hi Nagi, yet another perfect recipe from you! This dressing is so tasty and perfect. I am wondering how long this dressing would keep if I made a batch if it at a time and stored it in a mason jar in the fridge. Thanks!
Hi Ropa, I’m so happy you loved it. As a general rule of thumb, I keep dressing for 3-4 days as it has garlic in it. N x
Hi Nagi. I have been delighting in the HUGE field mushrooms that are available here in the west at the moment. I don’t think that enough people know what to do with these beauties. But a foodie secret I learnt from MY mum was to dice them fine and/or grate/slice them finely with a kitchen grater or hand-held microplane and add them to risottos, braises or stews. The flavour is divine and when you add it to gravy is reminiscent of the beautiful, rich and intense mushroom sauces and jus you get from fine restaurants. Happy cooking and a very Happy New Year and welcome to 2020 🙂 Caz
Sounds amazing Caz, thanks for the great tip!!
Another wonderful recipe, thank you. The dressing in particular is absolutely spectacular. I am a bit nervous about using sesame oil as it can be overwhelming, but this was perfection!!
I’m so glad you loved it Lynda!
Nagi, I’m in love with this salad! I made it with kung-pao chicken last night for a friend who came over and our taste buds were all ecstatic about the food! Sooooo goood!
Thank you for recipes that are simple, yet so incredibly elegant.
Perfect Zee!
Nagi, I messed up the chicken, dried tomatoes recipe! I’m upset with myself. Had chicken breasts with bones, even tho I sliced them they were too big, No fresh basil, used small amt of dried. Didn’t slice tomatoes thin enough. I would have burned the garlic if I’d cooked it for 15 minutes, so I didn’t. I had looked forward to making it! Shall I try again. I served with egg noodles.
Outstanding Tom Yum recipe so much better when you make it yourself with fresh ingredients