Asian-Inspired Steak Noodle Salad Bowls

These Asian-Inspired Steak Noodle Salad Bowls are a delicious, filling lunch or dinner idea filled with fresh herbs, mango and a garlic-paprika vinaigrette overtop of sesame marinated steak!

This post is sponsored by Harvest Snaps – thanks for supporting the brands that help keep my blog up and running!

I think we are officially heading into cold summer salad season, and I’m absolutely here for it.

Take these Asian-Inspired Steak Noodle Salad Bowls for instance.

It’s got everything that a delicious summer salad should have: a variety of flavours and colours, some carbs, some protein, a delicious marinade and salad dressing that pairs ever so perfectly together, and some different textural elements such noodles, mango and (yaaaaaassss!) crunchy Harvest Snaps.

Now this may look like a complicated concoction but I have provided some shortcuts here (pre-cooked noodles and bagged coleslaw) so you can have dinner ready and on the table in less than 45 minutes.

The steak marinade is key, and you can repurpose it for many backyard BBQs this summer. I actually adapted it from an old family favourite that we use for chicken thighs, and let’s just say it is soooooooo good we’ve been making it for over 10 years now.

Really, it’s a no-fail combination: soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and garlic. Marinate for 15-20 minutes while you chop up all the other veggies and preheat the BBQ.

I still struggle with cooking steak perfectly but over time I think I’ve been able to nail down the right time for medium-rare with a cheaper, thinner cut of steak (because, let’s be real here – not everybody has the budget for a rib eye on a regular weeknight, just sayin’!)

I think the perfect formula is 2-3 minutes per side on high heat for medium rare with this kind of steak. And trust me, I have been messing up steak for the past few years or so, so I’d like to think you’re benefitting from my past mistakes here. Either that or I should have been looking up the proper technique online a lot sooner…

It’s funny to think of how my cooking experiences have evolved over the past few years. I’ve always loved the process of turning ordinary ingredients into a delicious meal, and honestly? I feel that everything I eat these days needs to be my new favourite food. I have this crazy obsession with food that I never thought I would.

It all started when I was in university trying my hand at meal planning and realizing that I just couldn’t afford to eat out all the time – I was barely making any money at that time with the demands of school and I carefully considered every penny I spent.

So planning all my meals to the nines became really important if I wanted to have some semblance of balance in my life (and not be in debt forever!) But I really feel as though your budget doesn’t have to limit what you eat.

I mean, even the thought of steak kinda makes you think about the money aspect, right? It’s garnered a reputation as a more expensive source of protein and when people think of steak, they think of a crazy expensive steak dinner. Not true!

The steaks I bought for these Asian-Inspired Steak Noodle Salad Bowls were actually the cheapest cut possible and you really don’t need anything super fancy here. Just a couple marinating steaks cooked the right way, a bag of pre-cooked Chinese noodles (you could do rice noodles for a gluten-free version of this recipe), a bag of coleslaw, a mango, some red pepper, cilantro and some crunchy toppings like Harvest Snaps, chopped peanuts and unsweetened coconut. BOOM. You’ve got leftovers for days and the chance to use all the other ingredients in other meals during the rest of the week.

I love my toppings so it’s obvious I went a bit crazy here, and you could definitely reduce the number of things you need to buy for this salad but I do have to say that you want to get your flavours from the salad itself and not just the dressing.

It sounds crazy but sometimes I actually eat salad without dressing sometimes, or even just a simple honey-Dijon combo. I’m all for making life easier, especially as the weather gets nicer!

Will you be making these Asian-Inspired Steak Noodle Salad Bowls? 

I think I could pretty much make these kinds of salad bowls for the rest of the summer. Bring me a big bowl of colour and some wine on a patio and I’m set!

As usual, if you try any of my recipes be sure to let me know on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or in the comments – I’d love to see what you come up with!

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