'Quietly invited into millions of homes': The heartwarming story behind Australia's 'favourite salad'

For all the talk of Aussies’ carnivorous ways, there’s one dish that will almost always steal the show at a barbeque – and it’s not the meat.

The Simpsons once posited you “don’t win friends with salad”, but anyone who’s witnessed the hysteria caused by a certain combination of wombok, shallots, fried noodles, slivered almonds and tangy dressing knows that’s a furphy.

"My mother-in-law makes it for literally every family event. It's such a staple, people kick up a fuss if it's not on the table when they arrive," one colleague tells me.

"It goes on the table at every big gathering, right next to the Greek salad," another says.

"More often than not it's drowned in the dressing, but it's always a big hit."

Another nine.com.au staffer knows it as "man salad", the nickname bestowed upon the dish by her dad because it's the one salad a bloke will happily eat.

Yes, we can safely say the Chang's Crispy Noodle Salad has united the nation – and the sweetest part is Aussies played a role in its creation.

'It belongs to everyday Australian families'

Anyone who's whipped up this popular dish knows exactly where to find the recipe: on the back of a packet of Chang's Original Fried Noodles.

(I, meanwhile, assumed for many years it was my grandma's invention before discovering the truth in a plotline reminiscent of a certain Friends episode.)

Chang's Director Elaine Pow tells nine.com.au they're "pretty sure" it first appeared on the packaging in the late '80s.

"[This] feels about right if you talk to the home cooks who've been making it 'since the '80s for Christmas lunches and backyard barbies," she says.

At the time, it was "just a simple back-of-pack idea" for how to use the crispy noodles, and the recipe itself can't be credited to a single inventor.

Pow says it evolved from word-of-mouth among shoppers and home cooks who all used the noodles in a similar dish – a combination of wombok, spring onion, toasted pine nuts and a sweet-tangy dressing.

Chang's merchandisers in supermarkets would be stopped in the aisle by shoppers who wanted to share their version, with everyone "insisting their family's was the best".

"Over time, that chorus of shopper tips crystallised into the recipe that ended up on the back of the packet," Pow says.

"So while we've refined the wording and suggested quantities, the heart of the recipe belongs to everyday Australian families who took a humble bag of fried noodles and turned it into a cult salad."

From a noodle packet to 'Australia's favourite salad'

The team behind the family-run business couldn't have possibly known they were writing themselves into Aussie food history by putting a recipe on the back of a noodle packet.

It didn't take long for the salad to become a phenomenon.

"The penny dropped when our merchandisers started reporting they couldn't tidy the noodle shelf without someone stopping them to rave about 'that noodle salad'," Pow says.

The sales data reflected this, and before long the Chang's salad began appearing in community cookbooks and on photocopied recipe cards, eventually making its way into magazines, blogs and on TV.

"That's when we realised we weren't just selling a product, we were playing a small part in Australians' love of summer entertaining," Pow says.

Four decades on, the salad remains an unshakable staple of Christmas meals, barbeques and countless other gatherings and celebrations.

Recipe cards mightn't be so common now, but the sharing continues. You'll often find TikTok and Instagram food creators trying their hand at the dish and putting their own spin on it, introducing it to a new generation.

Pow says the lingering affection for the recipe, which has been declared 'Australia's favourite salad' by food writers and fans, is "incredibly humbling".

"We feel both proud and a little amazed that a recipe from the back of a packet has taken on a life of its own."

It's a particularly special feat for a family business like Chang's, which has spanned three generations over its 50 years of operation.

"The crispy noodle salad has played a huge role in making [us] a name most people recognise in the supermarket aisle," Pow adds.

"So, when we see it on Christmas tables, in online polls about iconic Aussie dishes, or being recommended as something kids will actually eat, it feels like we've been quietly invited into millions of homes."

The next chapter

The salad's 'go-to' status was further cemented when Chang's took a step that made the process even easier: bottling the famous sesame-soy dressing.

Pow says this decision simply reflected the way customers were already using the recipe as the salad's popularity increased and "the pace of life got busier".

"We found that people wanted a faster, no-measure option, especially when they were throwing it together on the way out the door to a BBQ," she said.

"In a way, the bottle is just the next chapter in the same story: making it easier for Australians to keep this much-loved salad on the table."