Blissed-Out Thai Salad with Peanut Tempeh

30-minute Thai- and Indonesian-inspired salad with rainbow veggies, noodles, and marinated peanut tempeh! Dress with peanut sauce for a flavorful, healthy, plant-based meal!

Blissed-Out Thai Salad with Peanut Tempeh

Ingredients

SALAD

• 6 ounces vermicelli noodles (I like brown rice noodles)
• 2 medium whole carrots, "ribboned" with a vegetable peeler or spiralizer
• 2 stalks green onions (finely chopped)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 2-3 Tbsp chopped mint
• 1 cup loosely packed spinach (chopped)
• 1 cup thinly sliced red cabbage
• 1 medium red bell pepper (thinly sliced)
• 1 batch Marinated Peanut Tempeh (optional)

DRESSING

• 1/3 cup salted creamy peanut butter, almond butter, or sunbutter (plus 1 extra Tbsp as original recipe is written)
• 3 Tbsp gluten-free tamari (or soy sauce if not GF)
• 3 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp chili garlic sauce (or sub 1 red Thai chili minced // or 1/4 tsp red pepper flake // amounts as original recipe is written)
• 1 medium lime, juiced (yields ~3 Tbsp or 45 ml)
• ~1/4 cup water (to thin)

Instructions

• Cook rice noodles according to package instructions, rinse, drain, and set aside to cool.
• To a large serving bowl, add cooked and cooled noodles, carrots, green onions, cilantro, mint, spinach, cabbage, and red bell pepper and toss loosely to combine. Set aside.
• Make dressing by adding peanut butter, tamari, maple syrup, chili sauce (or chili or red pepper), and lime juice to a small mixing bowl and whisking to combine. Then add warm water a little at a time until a thick but pourable sauce is achieved.
• Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more maple syrup for sweetness, chili sauce (chili or red pepper) for heat, lime juice for acidity, or tamari for saltiness. Set aside.
• Add 1/2 of the tempeh (optional) and 1/2 of the sauce to the salad and toss. Then top with remaining tempeh and sauce. Serve immediately. Leftovers store well in the refrigerator up to 4-5 days, though best when fresh. I find that, if making ahead of time, it's better to leave the salad undressed and store the tempeh separately.

https://minimalistbaker.com/blissed-out-thai-salad-with-peanut-tempeh/