Ingredients:
2 cups cooked rice noodles
1 cup purple cabbage
1 cup romaine lettuce
1 cup cucumber
1 cup carrots
1 cup bean sprouts
3 green onions
½ cup cilantro
½ cup mint leaves
⅓ cup peanuts
1 pound cooked shrimp
For the dressing:
¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1-inch fresh ginger
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 tablespoon honey
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons of water
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
Directions:
Start by chopping all the ingredients. The cabbage, lettuce, and carrots should be shredded, while the cucumber should be diced. The herbs, shrimp, and peanuts should be chopped but not too finely.
For the dressing, whisk or blend all the ingredients together until you get a smooth mixture. Set aside and assemble the salad.
Cook the rice noodles according to the instructions on the packaging.
For the shrimp, you may cook them however you like. You can boil them or fry them, feel free to lightly season them if you’d like, or may leave them as is.
In a large bowl, add the rice noodles, cabbage, romaine lettuce, cucumber, carrots, cilantro, mint, green onions, bean sprouts, and shrimp.
Add the dressing to the salad and toss it all together until everything is evenly coated with the dressing. You may add more chopped herbs on top for garnish.
Notes:
For the peanut butter, try not to use one that is overly sweet. If the peanut butter is more on the dense side, you can quickly microwave it before whisking it together with the other dressing ingredients.
It is important to rinse all the ingredients well. When it comes to bean sprouts, if you are worried about foodborne illnesses, you can quickly cook your bean sprouts by placing them in the microwave for a couple of minutes. You can also quickly blanche them in some boiling water, just make sure you don’t overcook them as you want to keep their slightly crunchy texture.
If you are not a fan of sesame oil or are not able to buy it, you may substitute it with olive oil, avocado oil, or any neutral-tasting oil of your choice.
If you cannot get your hands on limes or lime juice, you may use lemons as well.
Sriracha is optional. If you don’t want any spice feel free to omit this ingredient. On the other hand, if you enjoy spice, you may substitute it with your choice of chili paste, flakes, or oil.
Try to use fresh herbs for this recipe, since dried herbs do not bring the same freshness to a dish. You can also use parsley and basil if you need to substitute one of the herbs.
You may change the protein in this recipe. Instead of shrimp, you can do tofu, chickpeas, chicken, or even thin slices of beef.
For the vegetables, you may use what you have. Other options include broccoli, zucchini, and bell peppers. Just make sure they are sliced or chopped into smaller pieces to create the perfect bite each time.
For garnish and crunch instead of peanuts you may use crunchy onions or sesame seeds.
This salad can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
