THAI NOODLE SALAD

Thai Noodle Salad with the BEST EVER Peanut Sauce- loaded up with healthy veggies!
Healthy, delicious and filling plus Gluten-Free!

This Thai noodle salad is great made ahead, keeps well for 3-4 days -perfect for midweek meals and lunches. Top this with chicken for added protein. So delicious!

It starts with dry noodles. So here again, the salad is actually, by volume more veggies than noodles! My kind of salad.

Use linguine, soba noodles,  pad Thai-style rice noodles, brown rice noodles or seriously any pasta you have in your pantry. Toss the pasta with 4 cups of shredded veggies. Add scallions, jalapeño and cilantro and toss with the flavorful peanut sauce. Top with toasted, crushed peanuts.

The salad gets more and more flavorful each day.

Veggies like cabbage, carrots and radishes, stay crunchy in the salad, even over several days. The light and creamy peanut sauce is a nice contrast.

Ingredients

• 200 gms dry noodles (brown rice noodles, pad thai style rice noodles, soba noodles, linguini)
• 4 cups mix of cabbage, carrots and radish, shredded or grated
• 1 red bell pepper, finely sliced
• 3 scallions, sliced
• ½ bunch cilantro, chopped (or sub basil and mint)
• 1 tablespoon (or less, or more) jalapeño, finely chopped
• ¼-½ cup roasted, crushed peanuts ( garnish)

Thai Peanut Sauce ( make a double batch and save the rest for another use)

• 3 thin slices ginger- cut across the grain, about the size of a quarter.
• 1 fat clove garlic
• ¼ cup peanut butter ( or sub almond butter!)
• 1  orange ( ¼ cup orange juice)
• 1 med-large lime (3 tablespoon lime juice)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce 
• 3 tablespoons honey 
• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• ½ -1 teaspoon cayenne pepper ( or a squirt of sriracha sauce)
• ½ teaspoon salt

instructions

Cook pasta according to directions on package. ( See notes for rice noodles) Drain and chill under cold running water.

In the meantime, blend the peanut sauce ingredients together in a blender until smooth.

Place shredded veggies, bell pepper, scallions, cilantro and jalapeño in a bowl. Toss. Add the cold noodles to the bowl and toss again. Pour the peanut sauce over top and toss well to combine.

Taste, adjust the salt and serve, garnishing with roasted peanuts and cilantro and a lime wedge.

notes

If cooking pad thai style rice noodles, add the noodles to a pot of boiling water. Turn heat off, stir and let steep 2-3 minutes until tender, drain and run under cool water.