Thai Crunch Salad CPK Copycat (with peanut ginger sauce)
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
Chopped Salad Ingredients
- 4 cups shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix
- 1 cup red cabbage or napa cabbage, shredded
- 1 ½ cups carrots, shredded
- 1 cup cucumbers, large diced
- 1 cup red pepper, large dice or thinly sliced
- 3-4 green onions, sliced
- 1 cup edamame, steamed
- 1 ½ cups bean sprouts
- 1 red serrano pepper, finely chopped
Spicy Peanut Ginger Dressing
- ½ cup peanut butter (natural)
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lime juice, fresh
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil (optional)
- 2 tablespoons sriracha or sambal
- 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce (tamari)
- 1" piece fresh ginger (more to taste)
- 1 clove garlic
- 2-4 tablespoons water
Garnish
- 1 cup cilantro, Thai basil, mint chopped
- ½ cup roasted peanuts and/or sunflower seeds
- 1 package ramen noodles, roughly broken and toasted
Instructions
For the Salad
- Using a sharp knife or a mandoline, shred the cabbage thin like coleslaw.
- Slice, dice, and shred the remaining vegetables.
- Toast peanuts/sunflower seeds in a dry skillet over medium-high until fragrant and lightly toasted. Shaking the pan as needed. Remove from heat to cool then rough chop the peanuts and set aside.Pro Tip: If toasting the ramen noodles in the oven, the nuts can go on the same baking sheet!
Toasted Ramen Noodles
- Break the ramen noodles into chunks and place on a baking sheet in the oven at 375ºF for 5-8 minutes - shaking as needed. Or bake in the toaster oven until golden. Or in the air fryer at 320º F until lightly golden (5-7 minutes) shaking as needed. Keep your eye on them, they go fast!The noodles will not be evenly golden which is totally fine.
For the Ginger Peanut Sauce
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust as desired. Add more vinegar and lime juice for sour/tartness, maple syrup for sweetness, chili paste/sriracha or ginger for heat, and garlic for pungency.
- If oil free, easily skip the sesame oil - this dressing is fabulous without it!Place in fridge until needed.
To Serve
- Toss together the salad ingredients and about ⅔ of the peanut salad dressing in a large bowl until evenly coated. Top with fresh herbs, chopped peanuts, sunflower seeds (optional), and toasted ramen noodles. Serve with a extra sauce and lime wedges.
Notes
For an even quicker meal:
- make the peanut sauce up to a week in advance and store in a jar in the fridge until needed.
- use pre shredded veggies.
- toast ramen noodles and nuts/seeds weeks in advance and store in a airtight container in the pantry. Make extras and sprinkle on salads and bowls all week for extra crunch.