This Asian salad with homemade spicy peanut dressing is going to be your new addiction! I was seriously rummaging through the kitchen trying to find different things to dip in this amazing sauce.
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 but you can taste and adjust if needed.
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!
Things you’ll need: Small bowl for dressing, whisk, garlic press, microplane, mandoline for cabbage, large bowl for salad, salad spinner.
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Asian Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
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Description
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.
Ingredients
Spicy Peanut Dressing
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter, room temperature
- 2 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- Juice of 1 lime (1 1/2 tbsp)
- 2 tbsp low sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced or use garlic press
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 1 tsp Huy Fong Chili Paste or 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or more depending on preference)
Asian Salad Components
- 1 head of 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
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed (see note).
- In a large bowl, mix together all the salad components and then drizzle the spicy peanut dressing over the top. Serve alone, with grilled chicken, or grilled shrimp.
Notes
- If you want the dressing thinner, add 1 to 2 tbsp of water and whisk until combined.
- 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.
- Store salad and dressing separately in refrigerator or dressing will cause elements to get soggy.
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: Asian
Keywords: Spicy peanut dressing, asian salad
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