Sweet and Spicy Thai Peanut Salad

Not sure how to spice up your salad game? This Sweet and Spicy Thai Peanut Salad will do the trick!

It’s Salad Thai-me!

If you are a foodie, you understand that there are times in your life when food completes you. It sounds lame, I know, but it’s true! As a food blogger, these moments lead to ideas that turn into taste tests, which lead to recipes. That is how this salad came to be. I never used to put “exotic” ingredients on my salads. I was always a tomato, onion, and cucumber kinda gal. That’s why I like Greek salads so much (also because of the feta… ’cause feta is life). But after I learned that anything can be put on a salad, I started to let the creative juices flow.

For the Love of Peanuts!

It wasn’t until I tasted my first dish at a Thai restaurant that I realized I loved Thai peanut sauce. I honestly thought that I had never heard of it before, but then I realized it was the sauce usually served with spring rolls. The dish I ordered was a thick noodle with sauteed snap peas, peppers, and carrots, coated in the sweet and spicy peanut sauce. I instantly fell in love, and it has actually helped me branch out in the Thai restaurant community. After tasting that dish, I thought that with the perfect consistency I could make the sauce into a tasty salad dressing. I decided to use some of the veggies from the restaurant as toppings for the salad, but leaving them fresh (not sauteed) for a nice crunchy texture. Topped with some crumbled peanuts, and bam! You got yourself a Sweet and Spicy Thai Peanut Salad.

Sweet and Spicy Thai Peanut Salad

This vegetable medley is the perfect combination of sweet and spicy, topped with a little crunch!

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Servings 2

Calories 654 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1/2 large bunch kale washed and stripped
• 2 cups artisan lettuce I use purple!
• 5 snap peas cut in half
• 1 large carrot julienne
• 1/2 red pepper julienne
• 1 Tbs chopped peanuts
• 1 Tbs scallions
• 1/4 cup chopped red cabbage

Thai Peanut Sauce

• 1/4 cup plain yogurt greek OR non-dairy
• 1 lime
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbs rice vinegar
• 2 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 Tbs honey
• 2 Tbs red Thai curry paste international isle
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 cup coconut milk canned OR regular*

Optional

• 4 oz chicken breast
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp red Thai curry paste
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 lime

Instructions

 

• If desired, prepare chicken. First mix the optional ingredients in a mixing bowl and coat the chicken evenly on both sides
• Heat a pan on medium high heat and fry chicken until cooked thoroughly
• Next, assemble the salad by preparing the kale, lettuce, and vegetables. Combine prepared ingredients and add the cooked chicken
• Place the ingredients of the peanut sauce in a high speed blender or food processor, and blend until desired consistency. See note*
• Drizzle 2-3 Tbs of Thai peanut dressing over the assembled salad and enjoy!

Notes

If a thinner dressing texture is desired, use coconut milk from a carton. If a thicker sauce is desired, use canned full fat coconut milk. 

Adding chicken to the salad increases the caloric intake. Calorie count listed is not including the optional ingredients.

With chicken = approx 735 kcal

Nutrition

Calories: 654kcal

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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All images and text ©Alexis Stambaugh for Passport Flavor™

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