Description

This crunchy Thai salad packs a powerful flavour punch, and yet it’s uncomplicated and easy to prepare. It comes together in one bowl; with a total of 15 ingredients, from base to dressing. Think of it as a slaw with Thai inspired flavours.

Ingredients

Scale

For the salad:

300g white cabbage, sliced/ shredded very thinly into ribbons.

170g radishes, sliced or roughly chopped

2 Persian cucumbers (or ¾ English cucumber), halved length-ways, seeded with a teaspoon and sliced into ‘crescents’

½ green chilli, very finely chopped (optional)

3 spring onions, green and white parts very finely sliced

½ cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped

½ cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped

⅓ cup roasted peanuts

For the dressing:

1 Tbs sesame oil

1 Tbs apple cider vinegar

1 Tbs freshly squeezed lime juice

1½ Tbs honey

juice of 1 mandarin (small tangerine)

1 tsp freshly grated ginger

1½ tsp fish sauce

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

First make the dressing. Place all the dressing ingredients into a small bowl and whisk until smooth.
Place the shredded cabbage in a large bowl and add the dressing. The acids in the dressing will begin to work on the cabbage to soften it a little. Mix well.
Add the other salad ingredients to the same bowl: radishes, cucumbers, herbs, spring onions and chilli (if using).
Give it all a good mix with salad servers or even your hands.
Just before serving, sprinkle the roasted peanuts on top of the salad, and briefly mix through.
Garnish with a little extra herbs or a small sprinkling of peanuts.

Notes

* Unlike my wild rice salad with mint and preserved lemon, which improves with time as the flavours develop a little, this salad is best enjoyed the same day that it is made.

* Fish sauce is an ingredient commonly used in South East Asian cooking. It should easily be found in the Asian section of your supermarket, or at a speciality Asian shop.

* For peanut allergies, substitute with roasted almonds, or toasted sunflower seeds.

* I like to use Persian cucumbers (small, slender) in salads, as they are slightly sweeter and have a more intense flavour. However, English cucumbers (long and typically larger) are also fine to use. I would just slice lengthways into quarters, before seeding and chopping, to ensure that the cucumber pieces aren’t too big.