Thai Spaghetti Pasta Salad

I LOVE Thai food.
This Thai Spaghetti Pasta Salad recipe starts with spaghetti noodles and is full of fresh veggies, then tossed with a creamy, peanut based Thai dressing.

Ingredients

8 ounces of spaghetti cooked to al dente
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots
1/3 cup very thinly sliced red peppers
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup roasted peanuts plus more for garnish
1 handful cilantro leaves chopped, plus more for garnish

Dressing

1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp smooth peanut butter
1 clove garlic minced
salt to taste

Instructions

• Place cooked spaghetti, green onions, peanuts, shredded carrots, cabbage and bell peppers into a large mixing bowl.
• Mix dressing ingredients together until smooth.
• Toss salad ingredients together with dressing. Refrigerate Garnish with peanuts and cilantro

FROM:  Family Fresh Meals.com

Thai Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce



I've always enjoyed Chicken Satay, but I've never made them myself.

So now's my chance.

Of course, there would have to be one ingredient that I'm unfamiliar with.  You can find tamarind paste in an Asian or Indian Market. Or, I was able to find a substitute recipe for the Tamarind paste.

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade
     Bamboo Skewers

    
     1 pound chicken
     1/2 cup coconut milk
     2 TBL curry Powder
     1 Teas salt
     1 Teas sugar
    
     Peanut Sauce
     3/4 cup coconut milk
     1 TBL red curry paste
     2 TBL fish sauce
     3 TBL peanut butter
     3 TBL sugar
     1 TBL tamarind paste  * 

    Chicken Marinade

     In Medium bowl, mix ingredients together, cut chicken into strips, add chicken to bowl, mix to 

     coat well and let marinade several hours.

     Peanut Sauce

     Add well stirred coconut milk to a pan, on a medium low heat.  As the milk warms, add the curry paste, mixing to
      break up.  When you see the red oil shimmering, add the rest of the ingredients.

    * Tamarind Paste Substitute

     1 TBL chopped dates
     1 TBL Chopped Prunes
     1 TBL Chopped Dried Apricots
     1 TBL Lemon Juice

Place all fruit into a small bowl and pour enough boiling water over them to cover completely.  Let stand 5 minutes, drain water.  Place drained fruit and the lemon juice into a food processor.  Blend to a thick paste.  Store in fridge.
shopping list    

Crunchy Thai Peanut & Quinoa Salad

This Thai-flavored salad recipe is made with carrots, cabbage, snow peas, and quinoa, tossed in delicious peanut sauce. This healthy salad is vegan, gluten free, and packs well for lunch. Recipe yields 4 salads.

Ingredients

Salad

• ¾ cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 ½ cups water
• 2 cups shredded purple cabbage
• 1 cup grated carrot
• 1 cup thinly sliced snow peas or sugar snap peas
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• ¼ cup thinly sliced green onion
• ¼ cup chopped roasted and salted peanuts, for garnish

Peanut sauce

• ¼ cup smooth peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (I love ginger so I used 2 teaspoons)
• ½ lime, juiced (about 1 ½ tablespoons)
• Pinch of red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Cook the quinoa: First, rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh colander under running water. In a medium-sized pot, combine the rinsed quinoa and 1 ½ cups water. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer the quinoa until it has absorbed all of the water. Remove the quinoa from heat, cover the pot and let it rest for 5 minutes. Uncover the pot and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Set it aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile, make the peanut sauce: Whisk together the peanut butter and tamari until smooth (if this is difficult, microwave the mixture for up to 30 seconds to loosen it up). Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth. If the mixture seems too thick to toss into the salad, whisk in a bit of water to loosen it up (I didn’t need to do this).
3. In a large serving bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, shredded cabbage, carrot, snow peas, cilantro and green onion. Toss to combine, then pour in the peanut sauce. Toss again until everything it lightly coated in sauce. Taste, and if it doesn’t taste quite amazing yet, add a pinch of salt and toss again. Divide into individual bowls and garnish with peanuts.
4. This salad keeps well, covered and refrigerated, for about 4 days. If you don’t want your chopped peanuts to get soggy, store them separately from the rest and garnish just before serving.

Notes

Recipe minimally adapted from Frugal Vegan by Katie Koteen and Kate Kasbee. 

Thai Shrimp and Carrot Salad

I am always looking for new recipes for myself and for my Harter House friends. Today I found this fresh Asian Salad compliments of Whole Foods.

A light and refreshing salad served over a bed of rice noodles, this dish can easily transform into a vegetarian side by leaving out the shrimp. It's best eaten the day you make it.

















Serves 6
Ingredients

8 ounces uncooked rice noodles
1/4 Cup lime juice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/8 teaspoon crushed red chile pepper
1/2 pound cooked, peeled and deveined medium shrimp with tails removed
3 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup dry-roasted unsalted peanuts
1/2 cup sliced shallots
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint



Method

Cook noodles according to package directions. Rinse until cool, then drain and place in a large bowl. In a separate large bowl, combine lime juice, vinegar and crushed red pepper to make a dressing. Toss noodles with 2 tablespoons of dressing. Toss remaining dressing with shrimp, carrots, peanuts, shallots and mint. Serve shrimp mixture over rice noodles.

Nutrition

Per serving: 290 calories (70 from fat), 8g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 75mg cholesterol, 160mg sodium, 61g total carbohydrate (8g dietary fiber, 7g sugar), 24g protein