Say this recipe title 10 times fast and…you WIN!
Happiness and energy in a bowl. What more could you want on a Monday?
If I could summarize in a single recipe what a healthy vegan diet means to me, this bowl might just be it. It’s fresh, crisp, vibrant and heavy on the veggies with plant-based proteins throughout and a creamy and indulgent almond butter dressing. In other words – the perfect balance of this-tastes-freakin-amazing and this-makes-me-feel-freakin-amazing. I was bouncing off the walls with energy after I ate this….actually I still am. I swear it has nothing to do with overnight coffee concentrate.
Ok, maybe a little.
I know we’re only 1 week into summer, but this might just be my favourite salad of summer 2013. We’ll have to see if I can top this bad boy.
This salad is inspired by a raw Pad Thai dish I enjoyed at a restaurant called Marbles in Waterloo with my buddy Ange a couple years ago. I ended up recreating the recipe shortly after our visit, but I used glass noodles and I just wasn’t a fan. I don’t usually have texture issues with food, but those noodles were way out of my comfort zone. It’s strange because I’ve enjoyed them before in a couple restaurant dishes, but for some reason when I try them at home it’s creepville. Anyway, I decided to dig out this recipe again, this time using raw zucchini noodles. A very good decision, indeed. No creep factor. All goodness!
I decided to purchase a Veggie Spiralizer several months ago. This hand-powered device turns zucchini into a huge pile of cascading noodles in less than 1 minute flat. The device itself is quite small and compact, not taking up much room to store (which was my main concern) and it’s extremely light weight. The downside to this spiralizer is that it’s plastic and to be quite frank, it feels pretty cheap. However, I didn’t know how much I would use it so I went for one of the cheaper spiralizers on the market which only set me back about $25-30. It comes with a few different blades so you can make ribbons and what not, but I haven’t ventured that far yet. I like that there is very little waste leftover and the noodles aren’t as watery compared to using the hand peeler. Either way, you can use a julienne peeler (or a Y peeler to make ribbons) or a spiralizer for this recipe today. If you really wanted to, you could chop everything by hand the old fashioned way!
The almond butter sauce I made is very light – using only 1/2 tablespoon of oil – but it’s still creamy and indulgent at the same time. It makes just under 2/3 cup and I found it was the perfect amount for 2 large salads. We sure didn’t have any dressing leftover.
Rad Rainbow Raw Pad Thai
Yield
2 large servings plus scant 2/3 cup dressing
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
Ingredients
- 1 medium zucchini, julienned or spiraled
- 2 large carrots, julienned
- 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 cup thinly sliced red cabbage
- 3/4 cup frozen edamame, thawed (or try tofu)
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon hemp seeds
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
For the dressing
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 cup raw almond butter (or try peanut butter)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2.5 teaspoons pure maple syrup (or other sweetener)
- 1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
Directions
- Prep vegetables. Add the zucchini, carrots, pepper, and cabbage into one or two large bowls. Toss with hands to combine.
- Prepare the dressing by processing all dressing ingredients in a mini processor (or simply whisk by hand). The dressing may seem a bit thin at first, but it thickens as it sits.
- Top bowls with edamame (or tofu), green onion, hemp seeds, and sesame seeds. Pour on dressing and enjoy!
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)~~~~~~
Last but certainly not least, Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians! This post was supposed to be a red & white strawberries ‘n cream pie, but of course when you plan on a themed recipe working it rarely does. I’m sporting my red & white all day regardless. I hope you have a great holiday! Oh and happy (almost) 4th of July to those of you in the US.
Really loved this, pretty AND delicious! (Plus I got to use my still-new spiralizer :-) I put the edamame in the bottom of a Mason jar with the dressing, then just piled everything on top of that to bring to work for lunch. Made two really large servings, would easily stretch to three lunches. Thanks, Angela!
Hi Angela
Could I make the dressing and keep it in the fridge for a few days at a time?
This sounds lovely but I can never seem to eat the same thing two days in a row. It would be awesome if I could make a batch and use it again a few days later :)
Hi Emily,
Yes I think it would keep in the fridge for a few days, although I would give it a good stir before you serve it again.
Made this yesterday, delicious! Although I didn’t add any of the water and used one more tablespoon of lime juice. It gave it a little extra kick–no spice needed.
Made the dressing yesterday rather… Although I’m sure it tastes amazing on the salad here I just dipped in some raw broccoli.
Made this salad Friday, had the left overs last night and I thought the dressing was better after two days. I am completely addicted! I loved this salad so much, bought the cookbook and spent Sunday cooking from your website and cookbook (roasted chickpeas, Cream of Tomato Soup, Chewy Trail Mix Cookies, and Our Favorite Veggie Burger) with great results!
Thank you for sharing your ideas, recipes and food photos!!
I bought the cookbook for my daughter (and nearly kept it). It’s a book to keep and love. Because I gave the book away, I had to come on line to find dinner and wow – this sauce is incredible. Who would spend half an hour cooking and doing dishes when this can be made in one jug and so quickly. Steamed beans and dinner is good to go – it’s real fast food :)
I made this last night for my family. I used tofu instead of edamame and I had to leave the maple syrup out of my portion of the dressing as I’m on a sugar detox but it was a huge hit. I had to go buy a spiralizer, I got a Veggetti. The kids had fun spiralling the zucchini and they actually ENJOYED EATING the zucchini. Beautiful dish and perfect for a hot summer evening out here in the desert. Thank you for sharing it!
This is the most delicious raw recipe I’ve made. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!! Mmm so good!! Thanks for sharing! :)
Just made this salad for supper and it was AMAZING! My husband said it his new favorite salad. I am going to make it again for a family gathering this weekend.
Wow! Almost couldn’t bear to eat this it looked so beautiful ! A real work of natures art- but glad we did as it was delicious! My kids loved it too & ate loads so double top marks to you :-)
I’m eating high raw today, and this is definitely going to be my dinner. <3
I made this for my mom and myself this afternoon for lunch. Definitely a big hit! Added a bit of cilantro, which went well with the flavors.
Wow, just made this for dinner as I happened to have every single ingredient in the fridge for once – it was AMAZING!! I tweaked the peanut sauce and added cilantro and jalapeno as I didn’t have lime juice, so good. This salad is incredible, I should have made a double batch!
Thanks Angela :-)
Looks delish! Do you think a big batch would last a few days?
Just had this salad made for me – it’s really outstanding! Thank you so much for posting!
hi!
I made this for dinner the other night when my best friend came over. SO AMAZING!! We had the leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day (makes a lot when just two people are eating it). It was not just delicious, but beautiful to look at. I was thinking that the sauce would also be great over roasted veggies(cauliflower and brussells) and quinoa in a bowl.
Thank you so much for all of your recipes! I just ordered your cookbook (it has been languishing in my Amazon wish list for quite a while – Merry Christmas to me!!) and can’t wait to start cooking out of it!!
Looks gorgeous!! I’m definitely going to have to try out this recipe. Serious food envy here x
Just made this tonight for dinner – sooo delicious! I’m wondering, is there a way to enable “stars” for your older recipes? I’d give this the max!
Hi! I just made this for lunch and I’ve never scarfed down a bowl of vegetables so fast in my life! The dressing is so flavorful and the salad is beautiful.
I bought your first book on a whim at Whole Foods a few months ago, and it has changed the way I think about cooking (and DOUBLED my spice collection!). Love your fresh recipes on your blog and the process on Snapchat! Inspired <3
Haha, I’m so happy you enjoyed the pad thai so much, Dani! It’s one of my fave recipes, too. :) I hope you’re absolutely loving the cookbook!
I printed this recipe right after you posted it…..I finally made it for Mother’s day. So Good!! I’ll be making it again soon!