Asian Noodle Salad with Ginger Dressing

Asian Noodle Salad with Ginger Dressing/Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

I needed a potluck salad last week and found this delicious recipe ~ it caught my eye because of the mango. I just so happened to have a couple fruits ripening on the counter. The chicken was my addition, because the original didn't seem quite hearty enough. With the protein, this can be a main dish salad, perfect for packed lunches or a summertime dinner on the porch.

Asian Noodle Salad with Chicken and Mango and Ginger Dressing

Vinaigrette

6 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

1 ½ tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon minced jalapeno

1 garlic clove, chopped

Salad

½ pound whole wheat spaghetti, broken in half, and cooked according to package directions

1 cup chopped, cooked chicken breast

½ cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced ½ inch

3 scallions, thinly sliced

1 firm but ripe mango, peeled, pitted and thinly sliced

3 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

Cilantro, minced, used as a garnish, if desired

1.       Combine dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until combined.

2.       For salad, place cooked, drained spaghetti noodles in a large bowl, add chicken, cucumber, scallions, mango and carrot. Gently toss with vinaigrette and garnish with cilantro, if using. Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Recipe adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook.

Text and images, copyright 2014, Lucy Mercer.