bowl of noodles, cucumber noodles, carrot noodles, mango, chicken, and lettuce

At Ajpal, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

Fresh Bright Tropical Noodle Mango Salad

Because mangoes in salad are awesome. They are that little surprise which will take you aback when you bite into them. I love the crunch in this salad from all the cucumbers, carrots, lettuce and peanuts. It’s as tropical as it gets, though I decided to give the obvious pineapple a miss! For some reason, I much prefer mangoes to pineapple and swap them in recipes whenever I can.

And we haven’t even got to the dressing yet – which is extremely easy and doesn’t require you running to the grocery store. It uses some orange marmalade as a base with some mustard, sriracha, lemon juice, olive oil and honey. And it’s genius! The subtle orange flavor is exactly what you need to bring this salad together.

This recipe is incredibly simple and so versatile. Don’t have carrots? Substitute with bell peppers which are also crazy good in this salad. We’ve also made this with wild rice instead of noodles and it’s still perfect. I’m thinking some soy marinated beef would work really well too instead of chicken. You see, the possibilities are endless!