Asian Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing

By: Stephanie

9 Comments

Posted: 05/08/19 Updated: 11/15/22

This Asian salad with homemade spicy peanut dressing is going to be your new addiction! This asian salad recipe with edamame, carrots, cashews, and crunchy chow mein noodles is the perfect lunch or dinner salad. The spicy peanut dressing will have you putting it on everything!

Peanut dressing ingredients

What is salad without delicious salad dressing? A pile of leaves that I will not want to eat. Have you ever had the Thai chicken salad from Panera Bread? The only reason I like that salad is because of how good that dressing is, which is what inspired me to make this spicy peanut dressing at home.

At first I crushed garlic using a garlic press and grated ginger. A great ginger hack is to use a spoon to quickly/easily peel the skin off. You can finely mince it, but I used a microplane to grate the ginger so it would be more cohesive in the sauce.

Then there is the star of the dressing, the peanut butter. I know people are either Team Creamy or Team Crunchy, but for this recipe creamy works best. Trader Joe’s creamy no-stir peanut butter is my favorite. If you keep it in the fridge, put it in a microwave safe dish and melt it a few seconds. Make sure it isn’t too melted though.

Other elements that were added to the spicy peanut dressing are: rice wine vinegar, reduced sodium tamari (or soy sauce), lime juice, sesame oil, avocado oil (or olive), honey, and then I added some Huy Fong Chili paste for heat. If you don’t have the chili paste, add some red pepper flakes for the heat. Because the soy sauce and chili paste have sodium, I don’t add extra salt, but you can taste and adjust if needed.

Salad elements

Now assembling! For the Asian salad I used: fresh romaine, shredded purple cabbage, shredded green cabbage, carrots, edamame beans, cashews, cilantro, and crispy chow mein noodles.

Mix it all together and then drizzle the spicy peanut dressing over the top! Another great addition would be grilled chicken or shrimp. Enjoy!

This dressing can be stored in an air tight container for up to 1 week. Natural separation may occur, shake or re-blend before serving. If sauce is too thick, you can thin it out with a tbsp of water.

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4.57 from 37 votes

Asian Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing

This Asian salad with spicy peanut dressing will be your new addiction! This sauce brings so much flavor and some heat to compliment all the flavors of the salad.

Prep: 30 minutes mins

Total: 30 minutes mins

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4 servings

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Ingredients

Spicy Peanut Dressing

• ▢ 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (room temperature)
• ▢ 2 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• ▢ Juice of 1 lime (1 1/2 tablespoons)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons low sodium tamari or soy sauce
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic (finely minced or use garlic press)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• ▢ 1 tablespoon honey
• ▢ 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• ▢ 2 tablespoons avocado or olive oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Huy Fong Chili Paste or 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or more depending on preference)

Salad Components

• ▢ 1 head romaine (washed/dried, cut into 1 inch sections (about 4 cups))
• ▢ 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
• ▢ 1 cup shredded green cabbage
• ▢ 1/2 cup matchstick carrots
• ▢ 1/2 cup edamame beans (prepared according to package)
• ▢ 1/3 cup cashews (roughly chopped)
• ▢ 1/4 cup cilantro (roughly chopped)
• ▢ 1/3 cup crispy chow mein noodles

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Instructions

• In a small bowl, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients, you may also use a blender. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed (see note #1). 
• In a large bowl, mix together all the salad components and then drizzle the spicy peanut dressing over the top. Serve alone as is, with grilled chicken, or grilled shrimp.

Notes

1. If you want the dressing thinner, add 1 to 2 tbsp of water and whisk until combined.
2. Due to the sodium in the tamari and chili paste I didn’t add extra salt, taste after combined and add if you’d like.
3. Store salad and dressing separately in refrigerator or dressing will cause elements to get soggy. 
4. You can store salad dressing in air tight container for up to a week. Separation may occur, whisk or blend prior to using.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 337kcal (17%), Carbohydrates: 27g (9%), Protein: 11g (22%), Fat: 23g (35%), Saturated Fat: 4g (25%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 12g, Sodium: 424mg (18%), Potassium: 820mg (23%), Fiber: 7g (29%), Sugar: 11g (12%), Vitamin A: 16640IU (333%), Vitamin C: 27mg (33%), Calcium: 109mg (11%), Iron: 4mg (22%)

© Author: Stephanie