There’s one really special fruit that brings me back to my childhood, and those delicious treats are crisp and sweet Asian pears. My family’s backyard was lined with a row of Asian pear
trees and boy did they produce the most bountiful fruit. Whenever I wanted an after school snack, my grandpa would happily pluck a few for me to gobble up.
I saw them recently at the grocery store and I stopped in my tracks. I knew I had to grab a few and make them into a recipe. You really don’t need to do much to make these pears shine, just add some fresh vegetables and you’ve got a healthy Asian pear salad with orange ginger dressing waiting to disappear into your blissful bellies.
Random fact, my Chinese name is Yee Weung Meon, which means “beautiful rainbow”. When I admire this big bowl of colorful fruit and vegetables, rainbows come to mind and make me smile. I swear I just saw a unicorn jump out of this salad, hehe.
Eating all different colors really have amazing benefits from the phytonutrients contained in each piece of produce, the nutrients that you can only get from plants. This salad is the perfect way to get a wide range of nutrients all in one bowl, high five!
The dressing is really what makes this salad come to life. Fresh orange juice and zest, combined with ginger, shallots, rice vinegar and chopped cilantro is tangy, savory, with a hint of sweetness. It’s almost like it grabs certain flavor elements from the salad and makes them POP!
Light, refreshing, crunchy, like a flavorful concert happening in your mouth. Who’s ready to rock out?
The best thing about this dish is you can make it fast, without any cooking needed. You get a chance to practice your chopping skills and quickly whisk up your dressing in under 30 minutes. Win win!
This Asian pear salad can be enjoyed as a light lunch, or I like to serve it as a side dish with a spicy cedar plank salmon or sriracha honey chicken stir-fry. If this is your first time trying Asian pears, I would love to hear what you think. It’s been a mission of mine this month to create healthy and flavorful meals for my family and readers, I hope you’re finding some inspiration with this month’s recipes!
TIP: How do I make my own homemade salad dressing?
Dressings are all about creating an emulsion, a fine dispersion of small droplets of one liquid in another which do not usually mix together. In this case, grapeseed oil, orange juice, and rice wine vinegar serve as the dressing base. Usually mechanical force with the motion of fast constant whisking until you get a homogeneous mixture creates the texture you are looking for. The best method is to slowly add in a stream of oil to the vinegar and juice while whisking simultaneously to disperse the oil droplets. You can add other flavoring ingredients like shallots, ginger, salt and pepper to enhance the taste of the dressing. The emulsion is semi-permanent, meaning over time the oil and water phases will eventually separate. No big deal, just whisk again before serving.
Dressings are all about creating an emulsion, a fine dispersion of small droplets of one liquid in another which do not usually mix together. In this case, grapeseed oil, orange juice, and rice wine vinegar serve as the dressing base. Usually mechanical force with the motion of fast constant whisking until you get a homogeneous mixture creates the texture you are looking for. The best method is to slowly add in a stream of oil to the vinegar and juice while whisking simultaneously to disperse the oil droplets. You can add other flavoring ingredients like shallots, ginger, salt and pepper to enhance the taste of the dressing. The emulsion is semi-permanent, meaning over time the oil and water phases will eventually separate. No big deal, just whisk again before serving.
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