Asian Chicken Noodle Salad

I could eat the Thai peanut salad dressing with a spoon, but alas I had to save it for this wonderful salad!

You know how there's that thing where if you crave one thing, it means your body needs something else? I wonder what it means when you crave veggies. I have eaten a salad as a snack. I have no shame. Salads are just one of my favorite meals ever. I had a salad yesterday with no meat on it, but I do prefer chicken on my salad. I love the addition of cabbage to the lettuce and all the goodies that are in this particular salad before you even get to the dressing. I'm not kidding when I say I'd eat it with a spoon. The savory factor added by the peanut butter is straight up crazy! It's funny because years ago when I got the cookbook this recipe is from...I probably skipped past this recipe thinking it was crazy to have peanut butter in a savory dish...and even crazier to put it in salad dressing. But now, I am all for it! I wish I had been a fraction more willing to try new things back then.

(Print)
What you need:
For the Thai peanut salad dressing:

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• 1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp. honey 
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup + 2 tsp. vegetable oil
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 to 3 tsp. sriracha
• 2 to 4 Tbsp. water

For the salad:

• 8 oz. linguine fini or regular linguine
• 4 cups shredded greens (a mix of napa cabbage and romaine lettuce)
• 2 cups thinly sliced purple cabbage
• 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 medium carrot, julienned
• 1 medium cucumber, halved and sliced
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups grilled diced or sliced chicken
• 1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts

Directions:

1. For the dressing: place all ingredients in the blender (start with 2 Tbsp. water). Blend until smooth. Add more water if needed to reach your desired consistency. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Cook pasta al dente according to package directions then drain and rinse with cold water.
3. Toss cooked noodles with veggies.
4. Serve salad topped with chicken, peanuts, and dressing.

Recipe from Our Best Bites

Chicken salads are my go-to for lunch and Chrissy's Cobb Salad has bacon and eggs in it, so it's definitely a winner! It's summertime (pretty much) and I need this Spinach Salad with Spicy Pineapple Dressing from Sew You Think You Can Cook.

------------------------------
don't miss a thing. follow fantastical on:
facebook | pinterest | bloglovin | instagram