Chinese Salad

From: eatlifewhole.com

*I wanted a salad to go with my spring rolls so I turned to the internet.  I found this Chinese Chicken Salad recipe and made it without the chicken.  It is a healthy makeover recipe so it is different than the typical Chinese salad recipes out there.  It was awesome!  The whole family loved it.  I will absolutely make this again.  It does require some prep time so I prepped my veggies in the afternoon and tossed it together at dinner.  It made great leftovers the next day.  Only dress the amount you will eat, that way the salad doesn't get soggy the next day.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Salad:
3 cups purple cabbage, shaved or thinly sliced
3 cups napa cabbage, shaved or thinly sliced (They sell this in a bag already shaved at Trader Joes)
2 cups bok choy, thinly sliced
1 cup sweet peas, roughly chopped
1 large cucumber, peeled and cubed
3 mandarin oranges (you can use canned if you need to...just rinse thoroughly before chopping)
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 cup green onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup raw/unhulled sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 cup almonds, chopped and toasted

Dressing:
1 small carrot
1/2 cucumber, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup cilantro (stems included)
2 tbsp fresh ginger
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp honey
juice of 1 lemon
Pinch of sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

Directions:
*Prepare the leafy purple  cabbage, napa cabbage, and bok choy by slicing thinly with a sharp knife.  Then, shop/cube/slice the sweet peas, cucumber, mandarins, cilantro, and green onions.
*Toast sesame seeds by placing them in a small frying pan over medium heat.  After a few short minutes, you will notice a toasty smell and hear light pops-place them in a dish to cool.
*Roughly chop the almonds and place them in a toaster oven or regular oven at 400 degrees until toasted.  Set aside to cool.
*Prepare the dressing by throwing everything into a blender or food processor.  (I used my Vitamix).  Taste and add more salt, lemon, or honey to your liking.
*When you are ready to serve, use a pair of tongs and large bowl to toss salad ingredients with dressing.  If you know that you will use some for leftovers, keep the ingredients separate and toss before serving.