Taste-Off: Asian-inspired salad kits to toss and serve or toss out

"For this feature, we leaned into Asian-inspired salad kits, including Chinese, Thai, Korean and Japanese flavors. Among the things we learned is that the crucial elements in a great salad are a terrific dressing and mindfully cut veggies. Large, rough cuts of super crunchy cabbage, for example, are hard to eat and don't have enough surface area to hold dressing. Thin-cut cabbage, delicate vegetable shreds and greens with ruffly leaves are far more easily dressed."

"Key when choosing a salad kit is to examine the contents carefully to make sure the salad is fresh. Brown edges on the greens are a sure sign that the salad is either near expiration or was compromised in transit. A great Asian-inspired salad kit begins with bold, interesting flavor combinations. Greens and vegetables are fresh and well-cut, toppings are flavorful and generous, and the dressing has enough punch to pull everything together."

Bagged salad kits make adding salad easy and come in many flavor combinations and cuisines, including Chinese, Thai, Korean and Japanese. The crucial elements in a great salad are a terrific dressing and mindfully cut vegetables; thin-cut cabbage, delicate shreds and ruffly leaves hold dressing better than large rough cuts. Inspect kit contents for freshness; brown edges indicate near-expiration or transit damage. Great Asian-inspired kits pair bold flavors with fresh, well-cut greens, generous flavorful toppings and a punchy dressing. Poor kits show sloppy cuts, sparse toppings and oily or single-note dressings. Nutrition information is presented per 100 grams.

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