Making an Asian Caesar salad is a little involved because of the slightly complicated Asian Caesar dressing recipe. But once you have the dressing made, you can keep the extra for later and make the Asian Cesar salad very easily the second time.
You can actually buy Asian Caesar salad kits in the grocery store, but this is a way to make it fresh and with a few extra ingredients that the pre-made salad kit doesn’t contain. The Asian Caesar salad dressing is not exactly the same as in the salad kits, but the main flavors are very similar.
Asian Caesar Salad vs Regular Caesar Salad
A traditional Caesar salad is fairly simple. It’s essentially:
- Romain lettuce
- Shaved shredded Parmesan
- Big, thick croutons
- Ground black pepper
- Traditional Caesar salad dressing
The traditional Caesar salad dressing ingredients are typically: olive oil, lemon, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and anchovies.
With an Asian Caesar salad, we’ll keep the focus on the fresh romaine lettuce and Parmesan flavor. However for toppings, you’ll use wonton noodles, chow mein noodles or crunchy Asian noodles as well as toasted sesame seeds.
Other ingredients include pineapple chunks or pineapple tidbits. You can use fresh or canned. The Asian Caesar salad kits use chopped dried pineapples pieces, so you can use that instead of fresh pineapple if you prefer. (Chopped candied ginger may also work well in this recipe as a pineapple substitute!)
Need a quick and tasty lunch idea? Try spicing up a quesadilla with pickles with Pickle and Dill Havarti Quesadilla.
Asian Caesar Salad Recipe
The two main things you’ll need to do to prep for the Asian Caesar salad is to roast garlic cloves and toast sesame seeds. Both of those ingredients are very easy to make.
To roast garlic cloves: simply drizzle the amount of garlic cloves you want to use with a little bit of olive oil. Then wrap them gently in in aluminum foil. Then bake at 400° for about 20 minutes.
To toast sesame seeds: Put your sesame seeds on a skillet and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes until the seats are golden and fragrant, stirring occasionally.
Asian Caesar Salad Dressing
An Asian Caesar salad dressing recipe ships the focus from salty anchovies to traditional Asian flavors like soy and rice vinegar. unlike traditional Caesar salad dressing, this version has a bit of spice from the siracha sauce as well.
The ingredients for Asian Caesar salad are:
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon soy
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 2 cloves roasted garlic
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 tablespoon siracha
- Salt and pepper to taste
Tip: If you want a bit of creaminess to your Asian Caesar salad dressing recipe, just a teaspoon of Mayo at a time until it’s to your desired creaminess.
Looking for other great salad recipes? Try:
- Pomegranate and Pear Salad: a great salad for fall because it uses common fall ingredients and is a very light and colorful salad.
- Spinach Salad with Red Onion Vinaigrette: an ideal go-to salad for any occasion including holidays like Christmas or Thanksgiving.
- Bacon Broccoli Salad: Bacon and a creamy cheesy sauce makes this salad surprisingly addictive.
Asian Caesar Salad
Equipment
- Whisk
- Large bowl
- medium size bowl
- Aluminum Foil
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 2 green onions (chopped into scallions)
- 1/3 cup chopped pineapples or pineapple tidbits
- 1/4 cup wontons, Chow Mein or crunchy Asian noodles
- 1 tablespoon grated parmesan
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Asian Caesar Salad Dressing
- 1/3 cup oil (olive oil or canola)
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 lemon (squeezed)
- 2 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 cloves roasted garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon dried mustard powder
- 1/2 tablespoon siracha
- salt and pepper to taste
- mayo (optional, to add until desired creaminess)
Instructions
- To roast the garlic in preparation for making the salad dressing, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place peeled or unpeeled cloves on a square of aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil. Then create a pocket for the cloves. Roast in the oven about 15 minutes. (If you roasted the cloves without peeling, remove the cloves after cooking — they should easily slide out from the garlic skin.)
- Toast sesame seeds in a skillet for about 10 minutes until they are golden brown and aromatic.
- Rinse the romaine lettuce leaves and dry on a paper towel. Then, chop the lettuce into bite size pieces and place in a large bowl.
- Chop green onions into scallions and add to the bowl. Add pineapple bits. Gently mix the salad by folding a few times.
- Make the Asian Caesar Salad Dressing by whisking all ingredients in another bowl. First, whisk the liquid ingredients (olive oil, soy sauce, sesame seed oil, rice vinegar.) Then, add the honey, roasted garlic cloves, and siracha sauce. Add pepper and just a little salt to taste. For optional additional creaminess, add mayonnaise, one teaspoon at a time until your desired creaminess.
- Pour about a third of the Asian Caesar Salad dressing into the large mixing bowl. Gently mix the salad to coat the leaves. Add more dressing if desired. Otherwise, reserve the dressing for later use.
- Add in wontons or crunchy Asian noodles and the grated Parmesan cheese. Gently stir the salad once more.
- Place the salad in a serving bowl and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Use tongs to serve on individual plates.
