Thai Pasta Salad with spicy Peanut Butter sauce

A vegan pasta salad inspired by Thai flavours, the fresh ingredients and the delicious peanut butter dressing is what really makes this salad stand out.

It’s a meal filled with texture and nuttiness, it’s tangy, spiced up and full of flavour. This can also be referred to as a cold pasta salad.

I was motivated to make this after spotting something similar on pinterest made by Laurel from Darn Good Veggies . Her pictures are so beautiful, although I will admit the recipe I am sharing here is completely different.

I wanted to add more of a spice kick, I am a desi after all (haha!), while enhancing the Thai flavours.

You can enjoy this salad on it’s own or as a side dish on the dinner table.

For my recipe, I have only used a combination of 4 vegetables. It includes cabbages, both white and purple, carrots, scallions and a red bell pepper. There is also an addition of coriander and chopped peanuts that give a wonderful crunch to the pasta salad.

What are some other ingredients you can add to this Salad?

If you want to alter the ingredients or add additional ingredients to enhance this salad and cater it better to your taste, here are some of my recommendations you can try:

• Diced Cucumbers
• Edamame
• Bell Pepper- use different colours
• Non veg proteins- Spicy Shrimp or Chicken
• Mango cubes or slices
• Cooked Quinoa

These are just some of my ideas. The sky is the limit when it comes to salads and you can really get creative here!

If you like this recipe, you should also try my Broccoli-Grape Salad, Honey-Garlic Cauliflower and my Avocado Egg Salad.

RECIPE for Thai Pasta Salad:

Thai Pasta Salad

Recipe by Aysha SaihaCourse: SaladsCuisine: ThaiDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Total time

15

minutes

Ingredients

• 2-3 cups boiled Fusilli Pasta

• 1 cup shredded white cabbage

• 1 cup shredded purple cabbage

• 1 1/2 cup thin matchstick carrots

• 4-5 spring onions/scallions, chopped

• 1 red bell pepper/ capsicum, chopped

• 3/4 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped or halved

• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

• For the peanut butter dressing

• 3/4 cup peanut butter

• 1/4 cup soya sauce

• 2 Tbsp lime juice

• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar

• 1 Tbsp brown sugar

• 1 Tsp sesame oil

• 1/4 cup sriracha sauce (or any hot sauce)

• 3-4 minced garlic

• 1 Tsp ginger paste

Directions

• In a large salad bowl, add in your Pasta, shredded cabbages, carrot, spring onion and red bell pepper. Cover and set aside.
• Prepare your peanut butter dressing by mixing together all the dressing ingredients; peanut butter, soya sauce, lime juice, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame, sriracha, minced garlic and ginger paste.
• When you’re ready to serve, pour the dressing into the salad. Toss gently. Add in chopped peanuts and cilantro. Enjoy!

Notes

• To make it easier to prepare the dressing, I advice melting the peanut butter once in the microwave, before adding together all the ingredients. This will ensure you have a smooth mixture with minimal effort.