Noodle Salad with Mango & Roast Beef
Four grams of fat in a full meal. Roast beef, mango, whole wheat noodles, arugula, radishes, cucumber, and chili sauce — eight ingredients cold-tossed into a noodle salad that delivers 27 grams of protein on virtually no added fat.
The chili sauce does the heavy lifting: sweet, spicy, and the only dressing this bowl needs. Fifteen minutes from freezer to plate, most of it waiting for noodles to boil.
Four grams of fat in a full meal. Roast beef, mango, whole wheat noodles, arugula, radishes, cucumber, and chili sauce — eight ingredients cold-tossed into a noodle salad that delivers 27 grams of protein on virtually no added fat.
The chili sauce does the heavy lifting: sweet, spicy, and the only dressing this bowl needs. Fifteen minutes from freezer to plate, most of it waiting for noodles to boil.
Ingredients
- mango chunks (frozen) 3 ounces
- noodles, whole wheat 3 ounces
- radishes 5 pieces
- cucumber 0.25
- scallion 1
- roast beef 4 slices
- arugula 1 handful
- chili sauce 1.5 tablespoon
Method
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Allow the mango pieces to thaw.
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Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package, rinse with cold water, drain in a colander and transfer to a large bowl.
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Slice the radishes and cucumber. Cut the scallion into rings. Halve the slices of roast beef and then combine them with the mango pieces, arugula and noodles. Drizzle the chili sauce over the salad and toss together. Season with pepper and salt.
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Serve the noodle salad with mango and roast beef on a plate or in a bowl.
Toss the drained noodles with the chili sauce first, before adding the other ingredients. The sauce coats every strand instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
Rinsing cooked noodles under cold water triggers starch retrogradation — amylose chains re-crystallize into a form that resists digestion. Since this salad stays cold, the resistant starch remains intact.
Why This Works
Behind this recipe
Is 27 grams of protein enough for a full meal?
Twenty-seven grams sits within the range research associates with effective muscle protein synthesis per meal. Recent evidence suggests the body can use substantially more per sitting than the old 20-gram ceiling implied — the practical limit appears to be much higher than previously assumed. If you want more protein in this salad, doubling the roast beef to eight slices is the simplest adjustment.
Read the full evidence reviewCan I use regular noodles instead of whole wheat?
Regular noodles work fine. Whole wheat noodles contribute most of this recipe’s 6 grams of fiber and hold their texture slightly better after a cold rinse, but the swap will not change the cooking method or the rest of the salad.
Can I make this salad ahead of time?
The salad holds well for a few hours in the fridge. The noodles absorb some of the chili sauce over time, so add a splash more before eating. Keep the arugula separate until serving — it wilts quickly once dressed.
