Asian Wonton Salad

This was a fun salad to make and eat! I absolutely loved it. If you look at the ingredients, it doesn't look much different than a lot of other salads. But, what sets it apart is the delicious sesame dressing and the crunchy won tons....oh, the crunchy won tons; talk about fun to eat. I'm all about color in my salads too, because I want it to be eye appealing as well as good tasting, and there was some definite color going on here.

If you like to eat salad a lot, then add this to your repertoire. I love to change up my salads so I don't get tired of eating the same thing all the time. I don't know about you, but I'm also more likely to eat them more often as well if it's not the same old, same old.

I ate this as a main dish without any meat, but if you feel like adding something more substantial, try some grilled or shredded chicken, or even toasted cashews if you want to keep it meatless.


Asian Wonton Salad
1 head romaine lettuce, shredded
1 small head cabbage, shredded
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
1 cucumber, sliced
1 cup thinly sliced carrots

1/2 package wonton wrappers (save the other half in the freezer to make for another time)
vegetable oil for frying

Heat about 1 inch of oil in a small or medium frying pan. Use pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut wontons into thirds (3 strips). The oil should be around 375 degrees. Place only 3-4 strips in the pan at once; fry for 10 seconds, flip and fry for another 10 seconds or so. They go quickly so watch closely. Remove fried wontons to a paper towel-lined plate or tray. (These can be made ahead of time and kept in an air tight container.)

Shred lettuce and cabbage and place in a large salad bowl. Top with cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber, carrots and red onion. If you are serving the salad immediately, pour only enough salad dressing to lightly coat everything and toss to combine; add wontons and gently toss again or just place them on top. Otherwise, dish out salad portions to each plate and top with dressing and wontons.


Sesame Dressing
2/3 cup rice vinegar
2/3 cup canola oil
2 Tbsp sesame oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
4 Tbsp sesame seeds

Place all ingredients into a pint jar (or something equivalent) and shake vigorously. If desired, make ahead of time and store in the fridge.

SOURCE: Adapted from Our Best Bites