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I had leftover quinoa in my fridge and was trying to figure out what to make.  I looked in my fridge and cabinets and checked out what I had on hand.  The mandarin oranges were calling out to me and I thought an Asian Quinoa Salad was just the ticket!

Stir fry’s are a staple in my house – it’s an easy way to get in a lot of veggies – so I do have quite a lot of Asian-type foods in my pantry.  If you don’t, you can easily find the ingredients that are called for in your supermarket – I promise!

Ingredients

Salad Dressing

• 1/3 c avocado oil
• 1 TBSP Liquid Aminos (or use low-salt soy sauce)
• 1 TBSP Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 clove garlic (or use 1/4 tsp chopped garlic in the jar)
• 1 tsp prepared ginger puree (or use 1/2 fresh chopped ginger)

Salad Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked quinoa (I used red quinoa)
• 8 oz can mandarin oranges – or use fresh Cuties
• 1/2 can water chestnuts
• 1 scallion – chopped include the green tops
• 1/4 c bell pepper – red, orange or yellow pepper will look prettiest
• 1/4 toasted slivered almonds
• 2 hearts of palm – cut in 1/2 slices
• 2 TBSP cilantro

Preparation Instructions

Prepare the salad dressing by adding all the ingredients to a small Ball jar and shake to mix.  (While making this recipe on a Facebook Live video, I discovered I was short on oil, but the flavor turned out to be quite good just as is and is lower calorie as well).

For the salad, add all the ingredients to a bowl and toss gently.  Then add in about 1/2 the salad dressing and adjust to taste for a great tasting Asian Quinoa Aalad.  You can eat this immediately, but it’s probably a bit better if you allow at least a couple of hours for the flavors to blend.  Enjoy!

If you try this, let me know what you added to your salad.  It’s quite flexible.  Perhaps peas, edamame, shredded cabbage could also be good additions.