Thai salad is colorful, healthful, adaptable
I once worked full-time in the newsroom at the Chattanooga Times Free Press — I now write from home — and bringing lunch to work was a regular occurrence, but oftentimes was rather boring. I mean, how many lunchboxes full of leftovers can one enjoy? Salads were often the go-to choice, and those, too, became a little dull day after day.
There’s no doubt, however, that salads can be a good choice for dining-in during your office lunch hour. And still, working from home, I’ll make a salad for lunch a couple of times a week because they’re easy to throw together and such a great way to get the daily recommended dose of veggies in. Plus, who doesn’t love a good homemade dressing?
This chopped Thai salad provides protein from chickpeas so you can go meatless, and it has a lip-smacking-good peanut butter dressing that’s infused with curry and turmeric, making it a triple play for healthy eating. The dressing, as well as the entire salad, is earthy, nutty and makes me want to do a backflip right into the bowl. It’s a dose of lunch magic, for sure, with so much color from red bell pepper, shredded carrots, red cabbage, jalapeño peppers, green onion and fresh cilantro — or parsley. Raise your hand if you happen to fall into that cilantro-tasteslike-dish-soap category.
This is the ideal salad for on-the-go travel. Just pack it in a Mason jar or other container. It’s also great to take to the airport, something I did recently, bypassing all those unhealthy over-the-top pricey sandwiches and burgers you find along airport corridors.
Healthy Thai Salad
For the salad:
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 cup shredded carrots (from the bag)
1/2 small head of red cabbage, chopped (2-3 cups shredded cabbage)
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
Curry peanut butter dressing:
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lime juice or rice vinegar
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1-2 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric or curry powder
3-4 tablespoons water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For garnish:
Extra cilantro or flat-leaf parsley
Sliced green onions
1/4 cup peanuts
In a large bowl, add red bell pepper, carrot, cabbage, chickpeas, cilantro, green onion and jalapeño.
In a small bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients. Add water to thin enough to make a consistency that’s easily pourable. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, as needed.
Pour dressing over salad, and mix well to combine. Garnish with cilantro, green onions and roasted peanuts, to taste. Makes 3-4 servings.