Leftover Lunch Vietnamese-ish Salad

Life is about a balance of overambitious projects that you start and then wonder why you picked it - and then turning it into leftovers so your work isn’t go to waste.

Or is that just me? Lately, my lunches have been repurposing leftovers into something that I can put together midday and then move on with my life and I’ve been super conscious about trying to put every single scrap to use, to the salad is the perfect excuse to just throw anything together that I’m worried might go bad soon.

At the bottom of the article, I’ll list the local sources of the ingredients in case you’re wondering.

buttermilk chicken

SHREDDED BOK CHOY

CHOPPED

CUCUMBERS

LETTUCE

CHOPPED ONION

Took leftover shredded buttermilk chicken from Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat (it was so easy! and SO good!) and threw it in a bowl with:

This was just the start of what I thought I had to work with. But then I went kind of crazy. Oh, and there was no rhyme or reason to how much of anything went in, just make it your own.

added peanuts

This Trader Joes togarashi is my new favorite thing to sprinkle on anything and everything but especially salads.

a huge handful of sesame seeds came next, even though the togarashi has sesame in it - because, why not? I love sesame! No rules!

mint

cilantro

ginger

soy sauce

yuzu

best quality olive oil you’ve got

…

and I had half a watermelon radish that I didn’t want to go bad, so I added that in too.

ok, right now i’m in a place where my salads are an excuse to sneak in noodles.

so rice noodles went in there too!

also, this gave it enough bulk to ensure I would have leftovers, because leftovers made with leftovers are a double win!

and then, the salad came to my couch. where all meals go now.

The herbs, lettuce, cucumber, onion and radish are from urban oasis project - they’re offering no contact pick up from various locations.

The rice noodles and ginger are from Lucky Mart - support your local Asian grocer!

Everything else was in my pantry/freezer.