Asian Salad with Thai Peanut Sauce

So I found this recipe on this amazing website called Once Upon a Chef.  I have been drooling staring at it, on and off, for almost a month now, waiting for the day to make it.  Well,  I invited my parents and mother-in-law over for dinner last weekend in anticipation of serving this dish. (Actually I bribed them to come help me preserve food and work around the house by saying I would make dinner - but that's still an invitation to dinner right?!)

I recruited my dad to help with making the sauce and got out my handy food processor for shredding all the veggies.  This dish actually took very little time to put together (and would take even less time with pre-shredded cabbage and carrots), and the peanut sauce had amazing flavor.  We smothered everything we ate that night with the sauce!  So I can easily say DOUBLE the sauce.  It was great on chicken, rice, other veggies... The next day for dinner, I used the left over Asian salad and made raw, rice wrapper spring rolls and used the peanut sauce for dipping.  Again, simple and delicious.

My wraps didn't look quite this pretty,
 but you get the idea for using leftovers

So here is the recipe and I hope you enjoy it as well.  Enjoy Dad! Changes I made to the original recipe follow in the parenthesis.

Ingredients

For the Thai Peanut Dressing

• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from one lime
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (I used Tamari to make it gluten free)
• 2 tablespoons honey

• 2-1/2 tablespoons sugar (I was able to cut this out and not notice a difference in taste)
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1-inch square piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt (I was able to cut this down to 1/4 tsp)
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

For the Salad

• 4 cups chopped Napa cabbage or shredded coleslaw mix, (toss in a little shredded red cabbage for color) (I used just a regular sweet green cabbage).
• 1 cup prepared shredded carrots
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 1 small English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and thinly sliced (I did not de-seed)
• 1 cup cooked and shelled edamame
• 2 medium scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro

• TO MAKE THE DRESSING: Combine peanut butter through red pepper flakes and process in a blender until smooth.  Then add the 2 tbsp.cilantro and pulse until smooth again.  NOTE:  The first time I made this sauce I used my Nutri-Bullet.  The sauce became VERY thick.  I had to add a splash of water to even be able to extract it from the container.  The second time I made this I used my food processor.  It was much thinner this way and still came out amazing.  
  
• TO MAKE THE SALAD: Combine cabbage through 1/2 c. cilantro and toss until mixed well.  Drizzle sauce on just before serving or keep it on the side and let everyone add what they like to their salads (and meats, and other veggies)!

• In health, and supporting you on your journey to becoming Your Sensational Self,

• 
  
  Shelley Allen
  Health Coach, MS OTR/L

  www.yoursensationalself.com
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