Thai-style Salad with Peanut Sauce
So yesterday when it was time for lunch, I was in the mood for Thai food. However, I only had about half an hour to cook and eat before an afternoon meeting so I decided to whip up an alternative. I often have a container of homemade peanut sauce that works great on salads or in a stirfry in the fridge, but today I didn’t so this is the “quick and cheater” method!
What follows took about 10 minutes to prep and cook, leaving me with enough time to enjoy my lunch at a leisurely pace and feel smug and content at the healthiness of my food choices: gluten-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, vegetarian, vegan, low carb thai style salad!
Ingredients:
- tofu (or chicken for you die-hard carnivores),
- salad greens/spinach
- 1/2 avocado
- pepper (red or orange or yellow are nicest)
- onion (red or white tend to be sweetest)
- (optional) small handful of cashews
- black pepper
- 1 clove of garlic
- soy sauce (Gluten-free soy sauce or tamari if you want)
- peanut butter product of choice
- oil of choice (I like sesame oil for this recipe, but any kind you like will work)
STEP 1
Dice a small handful of onions, chop up about 1/4 of your pepper into bite-size chunks, mince or chop the clove of garlic, and cube one portion of tofu. I like to cut the tofu in longer, flatter pieces that are thin as I find this helps it to cook crispier on the edges which I like. Medium (ish) tofu is best — the softer it is the more creamy textures you’ll get in your salad so I find that cuts down on the dressing I feel the need for but you don’t want it so soft it actually falls apart.
STEP 2
Turn on a frying pan to medium heat, and sautee the onions and garlic in a dash of the oil you’ve chosen (adjust based on how ‘sticky’ your frying pan tends to be). After a few seconds for the garlic and onions to brown a bit and release some flavour, add your tofu (or chicken) and cook them. At this stage, I add a bit more sesame oil right on my tofu for the extra flavour and so it doesn’t stick to the pan, and sprinkle some freshly ground pepper evenly over the protein.
STEP 3
While those are cooking, put a handful of salad greens on a plate — how much depends on how hungry you are. Put your chopped peppers and avocados onto the plate as well. (note, if you prefer your peppers cooked, add them to the onion/garlic mixture now, instead). Be sure to stir your onion/garlic/protein mixture often.
STEP 4
Add a teaspoon of soy sauce to the pan once your meat is almost cooked (or your tofu is warmed through and a bit crispy), add a small handful of cashews to your pan on the stove, and a heaping teaspoon of peanut butter. This works best if you clear a small spot in the pan and let the peanut butter “melt” a bit before stirring it in. If you’re using natural peanut butter and it’s really thick, you can always mix it with a bit of milk, oil, or water to help it become more “saucy” and melt easier.
STEP 5
When the peanut butter is coating the meat/tofu mixture nicely, turn off the heat, and dump the contents of the pan over your salad greens. If you’re the type who likes the sauce and flavours perfectly blended, then you might want to toss it all in a bowl before putting it on your plate.
And voila! Lunch is served…
xo Crystal
Originally published at wellthyliving.ca on August 23, 2014.
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