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
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.
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
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.
throw some mung beans in there and you’re golden
Mung brand worked great. Thank you for the suggestion. Love, love, love your site, food and photos. I can’t wait for the cookbook.
Ugh, I really want a spiralizer! This looks awesome. I love Asian dressings. Yours seriously sounds good enough to drink.
I’ve had raw Pad Thai at Marbles in Waterloo (same restaurant?) and it was delicious so I will definitely try out this recipe. Their raw cheesecake was also amazing…perhaps you could try recreating that next? :)
Happy Canada Day!
Yes Marbles was it! Thank you, I couldn’t remember the name for the life of me :) I didn’t know they had a raw cheesecake though! Sounds delish.
How did you get the long spiral noodles?! They always seem to break on me. I love all the colors in this salad… so beautiful!
So many vegetables! This sounds like the perfect thing to eat this summer. :)
Honestly Angela, just when I didn’t think you could be any more brilliant you come up with this beautiful dish which I will be dying to make for the coming weekend! I love your blog and recipes so much:).
The colors in this salad are beautiful! I love the flavors too, it all sounds so yummy!
I’m not Canadian, but happy Canada day!! :)
This bowl full of goodness does in fact epitomize healthy vegan food…yum!! I am completely with you on the glass noodles…the texture was such a turn off that I couldn’t stomach the thought of eating them and ended up throwing out the entire recipe. And, those babies were not cheap! I bought this julienne peeler last year too, but didn’t have such great success with it, so maybe I’ll give this inexpensive spiralizer a shot…
This is the prettiest salad I’ve seen in ages. I want right now.
Hehe I’ll take raw pad thai over pie any day Ange!! :) This looks amazing! I’m with you on the noodles – I’d rather spiralize zucchini than use glass noodles. The glass noodles just don’t do the same thing and I like how the zucchini soaks up the sauce better. Speaking of pad thai dates, we are long overdue! (PS this time last year, I believe we were hiking through that totally non-marked trail with Eric, our trusty tripod carrier!)
I’m considering buying a spiralizer and I’m debating between the julienne peeler and the spiralizer you linked here – is the quickness/ease with the spiralizer worth the extra price and counter space??
I love my spiraliser! I use it several times a week. That dressing looks divine! Happy Canada Day! Xxx
what other recipes do you use your spiralizer for? i would love one of these but afraid it would not get used very often.
Making zucchini ‘spaghetti’ is my favourite way of using it, lightly sauteed or raw. I sometimes have the spaghetti/noodles on their own, or used to bulk out spaghetti or stir fry. I’ve also used it for carrot spirals, sweet potato and I’m trying making curly ‘fries’ tonight :-)
Such a gorgeous meal. Seems like the perfect combination of a light summer meal and substantial enough to really hit the spot!
And I can imagine myself using that dressing on everything!
Oh, I’m in looooove! Cannot wait to make this – the dressing sounds especially awesome!
This looks delicious! So colourful, so pretty! I’m going to try it one night this week for sure. I just bought a costco-sized bag of zucchini that needs to be used up. Thanks for including the link to julienneing because that’s what I’ll be doing since I don’t own a spiralizer (but it sure looks fun!).
Could I leave out the cabbage? I LOVE it but it makes me sick every time I eat it…
[email protected]
Yes for sure you can – feel free to modify the veggies based on what you like!
This salad looks absolutely beautiful with all the colors! I have a dumb question- when a recipe calls for a green onion to be used, do you use the green part or the white part, or both?
Personally, in a salad like this I would use the whole thing. More often though I only use the white. I believe in traditional pad thai you saute the white and garnish with the green.
Three things:
1. That is a gorgeous salad!
2. Spiralizer is like the best gadget name ever!
3. How do you think the dressing would taste with Sunflower seed butter? (we have a nut allergy in the house)
That’s a good question – one I was wondering too! To be honest, I’m not sure how it would taste. I think my Sunflower seed butter is lightly sweetened, so for starters I probably would scale back the sweetener as the full 2.5 tsp probably wouldn’t be needed (unless of course using a non sweetened variety of sunflower seed butter). Let me know if you try it out!
Sounds incredible! I love all the colors, too… vibrant food has to be good food, it’s a rule. And I love peanut dressings on salads like this, but have never thought of using almond butter. Such a good idea. You’ve got me craving salad big time, now! :P
Sounds lovely, Angela! Perfect for a picnic, I expect :)
Too bad about the pie not working out; I posted a salsa recipe (red!) in commemoration of the nation’s day on Friday! Check it out if you’d like :)