I believe this Asian broccoli salad is my family's new favorite! Packed with vibrant vegetables and an Asian inspired dressing, it makes for the perfect side dish. It can easily work for a large family gathering, as well as weekday meal prep. Fresh veggies, (with the added crunch of sunflower seeds), along with a little heat from the sambal is the perfect balance for this simple salad.
By following the step-by-step instructions below you will be well on your way to your new favorite salad recipe. With a little bit of prep, planning, and simple ingredients found at the grocery store, you can easily make this delicious side dish! For more easy salad ideas check out our Apple Barley Harvest Salad ,or our Black-eyed Pea Salad.
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Ingredients
- Broccoli - fresh, raw broccoli works best for this recipe
- Cabbage - we used green here.
- Edamame beans - frozen beans are convenient, and readily available.
- Carrots - we prefer them to be coarsely shredded for this recipe.
- Red onion - shaved very thinly.
- Green onions - thinly sliced.
- Sunflower seeds - we really like the dry roasted.
- Dried cranberries - add just enough sweet, tart and chewy!
- Apple cider vinegar - the sweetness in rice vinegar can also substitute.
- Soy sauce - the flavor of soy sauce goes a long way in making this salad delicious.
- Sesame oil -look for toasted, Asian style oil. This is for seasoning, not cooking oil, as it has a very low smoke point.
- Vegetable oil
- Ginger - fresh is the best choice.
- Sambal - an Indonesian chili sauce, adds just enough heat.
- Garlic - we always prefer to use fresh garlic.
- Brown sugar - we used light brown.
- Lime - fresh.
See recipe card for quantities.
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Instructions
Step One- Chop the broccoli & Prep the vegetables
Rinse the fresh broccoli under cold water, then chop it into small pieces that are fairly uniform.
Shred the carrots, slice the cabbage, green onions and red onions thinly. Cook the edamame beans according to the package directions, and cool them. Combine all of the vegetables in a large bowl.
Step Two - Mix the dressing
Measure the ingredients for the dressing.
Use a wire whisk to combine the dressing ingredients, then whisk in the oil.
Step Three - Mix all of the ingredients together
Add the sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, chopped fresh ginger, and the salad dressing to the bowl.
Mix all of the ingredients together and enjoy!
Helpful Hint
Making this recipe at least 4 hours before serving will result in the best flavor results! The best part is you will love it even better the next day. It's a wonderful recipe for meal prep.
Substitutions
- Brown sugar - you could use honey or agave syrup for low glycemic diets.
Variations
- Spicy - add more sambal to heat things up a bit!
- Cabbage - red cabbage can be substituted for green, however it might leech out color onto the rest of the ingredients.
- Sunflower seeds - great crunch, but can be omitted or swapped with another preferred seed or nut, (we recommend trying sliced almonds or cashew nuts).
Storage
This delicious broccoli salad does taste better the more it sits in the fridge! Store it in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Make certain to stir it before serving in order to get all of the tasty dressing.
Chef Tip
If the prep seems daunting for this broccoli salad recipe try breaking it up over a couple of days. Cut the vegetables on the first day, then make the dressing once you are ready to combine everything and serve it. In addition, using a food processor with a slicing blade could cut your prep time in half! No matter how you prep it, you will not regret making this salad.
FAQ
You certainly can! Substituting one for the other won't really alter the recipe.
More Inspiration
Recipe
Easy Asian broccoli crunch salad
Equipment
- 1 Chef Knife
- 1 Kitchen Scale
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Large Bowl
- 1 small bowl
- 1 wire whisk
- 1 Measuring Spoon Set
- 1 liquid measuring cup
- 1 large spoon
Ingredients
Salad ingredients
- 8 oz broccoli fresh
- 3 oz carrots
- 3 oz cabbage
- 8 oz edamame beans
- 1½ oz red onion
- ½ bunch green onions
- 2 oz sunflower seeds dry roasted
- 2 oz dried cranberries
- ½ oz ginger fresh
Salad dressing ingredients
- 2 oz apple cider vinegar
- 2 oz soy sauce
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ tablespoon sambal
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic fresh
- 1½ oz brown sugar light
- 1 large lime juice and zest
Instructions
- Rinse and chop the broccoli including the stems into ½-¼ inch pieces and place into a large bowl.
- Slice the cabbage thinly, shred the carrot, slice the green onion, and thin slice the red onion. Then add them all to the bowl with the broccoli.
- Cook the edamame beans according to the package directions and cool them down before adding them to the bowl.
- Peel and mince the ginger and add it to the large bowl.
- Add the dried cranberries and the sunflower seeds to the bowl. Stir to evenly distribute the ingredients.
- Measure the ingredients for the salad dressing, mince the fresh garlic, and zest and juice the lime,
- Using a wire whisk combine the salad dressing ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Add the oil and continue to whisk until everything is combined.
- Add the dressing to the large mixing bowl containing the broccoli salad ingredients and mix to combine.
Jason Miller says
We ate a giant batch of this in just a couple of days between two of us! So tasty!