I Sometimes people will ask me, “What’s your favorite food?”
That is a pretty challenging question for me. I love so many different kinds of food from different cultures all over the world. I love that a lot of times you can tell what country a dish is from or the culture that it falls into by the ingredients used in crafting it.
I’m really inspired by the flavors different countries use to create a taste that’s uniquely their own.
The beautiful thing about Thai food
Thai cuisine is one of the food cultures that inspires me most. I love that it takes fresh ingredients with color, texture and taste and mixes them together in a way that’s harmonious. I also love that noodles, so there’s that…
That said, this dish doesn’t have any noodles in it and would be considered a lower-carb meal.
Ready or not, summer is coming
Summer is around the corner and I’ve packed on some stress/moving weight since we moved from Illinois to the farm. I’m making a real effort to create dishes for us that are healthier, loaded with vegetables and have a good source of protein.
Still, I don’t like bland food. I believe in eating things that taste good. I want my meals fully flavored with fresh herbs, spices and a blend of tastes. Thai food is perfect for my belief system.
Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing
This inspired Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing combines all my wants and needs into one, beautiful and delicious dish that fills me up and satisfies all my cravings for freshness. It combines colors, textures and flavors just like a Thai dish is supposed to do in a way that makes me happy.
The Thai Salad includes green and red cabbage for crunch and color. I include carrots, cucumbers and red peppers to make sure I get my fill of veggies. Cilantro and basil are added in to make sure the flavors are all heighten with fresh herbs. The delicious Peanut Dressing includes natural peanut butter, garlic, ginger, soy, lime and more to complete the dish in a way that will make your taste buds happy. I love to keep it after making it in this bottle in the fridge. It keeps for a few days.
Grab the full recipe for the Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing below and let me know what you think. Pin it to save it too! For more recipes from The Everyday Mom Life, click here.
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Tips:
- Make this with rotisserie chicken if you want to save time. You can also try it with shrimp or steak too.
- Additionally, you can replace the peanut butter with another nut butter if you have an allergy.
- The salad will keep for about a day before everything becomes overly soggy. Just keep it in an airtight container.
- Feel free to add any additional vegetables you love!
Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 1/2 large green cabbage
- 1/2 large red cabbage
- 1-1.5 pounds boneless chicken breast
- 6 oz shredded carrots You can save time by buying these pre-shredded or you can also slice whole carrots into rounds.
- 3 red peppers
- 2 English cucumbers
- 1/2 cup basil, chopped
- 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
- 2 Tbsp. of olive oil or sesame oil to cook the chicken in.
- Salt and pepper as desired to add to the chicken before it it cooked.
- 1/2 cup crushed peanuts for the garnish
- Additional cilantro, basil and squeeze of lime as a garnish as desired.
Peanut Dressing Ingredients
- 1/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter If you don't like peanut butter or you can't have it, you can try with any nut butter.
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 2-2.5 Tbsp. natural honey Use the extra half tablespoon if you like a sweeter dressing.
- 2 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. rice vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, finely grated I like to use a lemon zester to grate my ginger.
- 2 tsp. fish sauce
- 1.5 tsp. garlic, chopped or grated
- 3 green onions. Separate the white bottoms from the green tops. Only the white bottoms will go in the dressing. The green tops will be used as garnish.
Instructions
- For the salad dressing, combine your peanut butter, water, soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce, sesame oil and honey and whisk so it's well combined. This should only take 3 minutes or so to get a good salad dressing consistency. You can also use a small food processor if you like but if you whisk vigorously enough, I don't find a need to dirty an appliance. 🙂
- Add in your ginger, garlic and white bottoms from the green onions. Mix in well and then set aside.
- Chop all your vegetables and herbs for the salad and add them to a large bowl. This will actually take you the longest so if you want to meal prep and make dinner making easier then you can do this the night before too.
- Salt and pepper both sides of your chicken as needed and add your olive oil or sesame oil to the pan.
- One oil had heated add your chicken to the pan and cook each side for about five minutes. Make sure your chicken is heated to the appropriate temperature before removing it from the heat and consuming it.
- Once chicken has cooled for 5-10 minutes, chop it and add it to the salad.
- Pour dressing over the salad and mix well.
- Garnish with peanuts and additional basil, cilantro and lime as desired. Serve.
Oh wow, this salad sounds awesome. I can’t wait to make this for me and my hubby!
This salad looks incredible! I will be making this for lunch one day. I’ve always liked peanut dressing.
Oh wow, this recipe is perfect – I love Thai flavours, so refreshing.
I love Thai food! The flavors in this salad must be amazing! I hope to make it soon!
I would love to try this! It looks so colorful and boasts of amazing flavors! The recipe is simple too!
OK now this sounds like an absolutely amazing salad, something really different with the peanut dressing as well! YUM!
This salad looks so yummy and refreshing. Perfect for the spring and summer months.
I’ve never tried Thai food before so I’m intrigued! It does sound perfect for summer – I’ll have to give this a try sometime.
That looks like my kid of salad! I could eat that every day! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
The dressing you used for this salad sounds delicious. I will list down the ingredients I need to buy to make this awesome salad. Can’t wait to dig in to a bowl of yumminess!
I’ve never had a thai salad before, but this looks amazing! I can’t wait to try your recipe. I love thai food, so I know I’ll love this salad too. I’m always looking for new ways to make a salad, so I’m definitely going to try this soon.
I have really been trying to make new salads. I get really bored with the normal salad. Can’t wait to try this
I am loving the combination of textures and flavors with this salad. I have been wanting to try different salads.
This is the season for salads. I love trying new flavors and recipes. I will try this one asap!
This is calling my name!! It looks so flavorful!
I love Thai cuisine too. Just so many amazing flavors happening! This salad will be perfect for summer dinners!
OMG this sounds wonderful and exactly what I would love. Such a healthy mix of flavours and ingredients. It looks amazing and so worthy of 5 stars!!!!!
This looks like the perfect Summer dinner, especially since my family and I are avid salad lovers. YUM!
My mouth starts watering! Will prepare this for the coming weekend, I am so sure my son would be favorite. Yummy!
That Thai salad looks amazing. I am going to have to make this to go with dinner tonight.
This looks like the perfect for any summer dinner. I really love salads. YUM!
I am not sure if I’ve ever tasted some Thai dishes before. I would love to after seeing this. Looks flavorful!
I’m not a huge fan of salad but this one looks absolutely delicious.
I am ALL about those fresh ingredients. All of that color in this salad tells me it’s got a ton of nutrients and of course, it’s going to be freaking delicious!
This Thai Salad looks absolutely delicious! I love how vibrant and beautiful it is. Your food photography is gorgeous!
Give me anything Thai cuisine. This salad is so refreshing. The peanut sauces is a must!
Oh this sounds delicious! I am always looking for lighter foods to enjoy in the warmer months and this looks perfect!