Pad Thai noodle salad with zingy peanut dressing
Love Pad Thai? Me too. There’s just something about this sweet, sour, salty and spicy dish that is so moreish and comforting.
Ingredients
- 150 g rice stick noodles
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic finely sliced
- ginger 2.5cm piece peeled and finely sliced
- 2 spring onions cut into bite-sized pieces
- 250 g prawn cutlets
- 425 g can baby sweetcorn drained
- 100 g snow peas blanched and sliced
- 100 g green beans blanched and sliced
- 60 g salad greens or baby spinach
Dressing
- ¼ cup crunchy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- 1 lime juice and zest
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons oil
To serve
- 2 lime halves black sesame seeds and roughly chopped peanuts
Instructions
- Cook the rice stick noodles in plenty of boiling water for about 5-6 minutes. When al dente, drain and refresh under cold water.
- Heat the sesame oil and sauté the garlic, ginger, spring onions and prawns until tender and fragrant.
- Arrange noodles on a platter with snow peas, sweetcorn, beans and salad greens.
- To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients and mix well.
- Top salad with the warm ginger prawns and drizzle with the peanut dressing. Squeeze over some lime juice, garnish with black sesame seeds and chopped peanuts, and serve.
Notes
In this recipe, the typical takeaway favourite Pad Thai is given a healthy edge by transforming it into a not-so-naughty salad. Packed with veges with a good dose of protein from the prawns, this feelgood meal is perfect for lunch or dinner. The creamy peanut dressing is also a stand out – it’s zinging with flavour from the lime juice and tamarind paste. Peanut butter is the key to creating this dressing, so check out my tips below for choosing smart.
When choosing your perfect peanut butter, look for a brand like Pic’s, which contains high-oleic peanuts (they stay fresher for longer) and just a pinch of salt, if that’s the way you like it.
Good-quality peanut butter is high in healthy fats and energy and is beneficial for heart and digestive health. The high oleic content is also a great source of protein, fibre and vitamin E. Just 2 Tbsp each day of Pic’s peanut butter will provide a woman with around 20 percent and a man with around 29 percent of their daily vitamin E needs, which helps to slow down the effects of ageing and inflammation by minimising free-radical damage within the body.
This recipe is from the April/May issue of NADIA magazine.
Good-quality peanut butter is high in healthy fats and energy and is beneficial for heart and digestive health. The high oleic content is also a great source of protein, fibre and vitamin E. Just 2 Tbsp each day of Pic’s peanut butter will provide a woman with around 20 percent and a man with around 29 percent of their daily vitamin E needs, which helps to slow down the effects of ageing and inflammation by minimising free-radical damage within the body.
This recipe is from the April/May issue of NADIA magazine.