Asian Zucchini Noodle Salad

Zucchini noodles with cabbage, carrots, red bell pepper, green onions, tossed with a sesame rice vinegar dressing. Light, fresh, and easy!

So, have you taken the plunge and invested in a spiral slicer? I bought one a few months ago and have been experimenting ever since. So far my favorite vegetable to “spiralize” is zucchini.
One quick way to make use of zucchini noodles is to just toss the raw “zoodles” with salad dressing. Instant zucchini salad!
With this recipe, I thought I would take the zucchini salad idea a step further and make a favorite Asian noodle salad, but with zucchini noodles. In addition to the zucchini there is thinly sliced cabbage, grated carrots, sliced bell pepper and green onions. Everything is tossed with a toasted sesame oil rice vinegar dressing.
It’s light, colorful, crunchy, and delicious. A perfect fresh salad for a hot day!

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 zucchinis (1 1/2 pounds total)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced and roughly chopped red cabbage
• 1 large carrot, grated (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced then cut into 1-inch segments
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped, leaves and tender stems (about 1/2 cup)

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar*
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dark roasted sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
• Pinch of red pepper flakes

*Seasoned rice vinegar is rice vinegar that has been seasoned with salt, pepper, and sugar. If you have plain rice vinegar, you'll need to add seasoning and sugar to it.
1 Using a spiralizer or other spiral vegetable slicing tool, use the zucchini to make the zucchini noodles following manufacturer's directions. You should have 5 to 6 cups of "zoodles". Place in a colander set over a bowl and toss with salt. Let the noodles drain a bit of their excess moisture while you prep the other vegetables.
Many of the noodles are quite long, so you'll want to cut them up a bit with scissors to make them easier to toss with the other vegetables.
2 Place the zucchini noodles in a large bowl. Add the cabbage, carrot, bell pepper, onions, and cilantro.
3 Whisk together in a medium bowl the seasoned rice vinegar, olive oil, dark sesame oil, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes.
4 Pour the dressing over the zucchini noodles and vegetables and gently toss to combine.
Serve immediately.

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