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.
Hey I live in Australia and my son recently decided to become a vegetarian and so I started to learn about the sorts of food I could make and send him (he is away at Uni and I send him care packages with home cooked meals – pathetic I know). Anyway, I stumbled across your website and I have been so excited, inspired and amazed at how awesome the food looks and also what a lovely, conscious experience it seems to choose and prepare your food as a vegan. I am determined to eat only vegan food from now on and am in the process of getting rid of things and collecting what I need – I was so excited today to find yeast flakes at my local health food shop today! And the shop assistant didn’t even blink, just directed me to a huge stash! I just text my children to let them know that we are all having a vegan Christmas and they are so excited to see what I can come up with. I think it’s going to change my life and I just wanted to thank you for your fabulous recipes but more I think for the warm, friendly and really welcoming tone of your site – thank you, Nicola
Hi Nicola, Thank you for your lovely note! That means so much to me. Good luck with everything!
This is my new favorite salad!!! It tastes even better than it looks. Now that’s saying something!
Thank you Angela for the great recipes. We eat from your website very often…not a recipe my girls (7&9) or hubby haven’t enjoyed yet!
It’s still hot in south Florida, made this for dinner….YUM ;)
How well would this freeze?
Made this tonight – OMG THERE ARE NO WORDS….so delicious!
The colors in this dish drew me in right away and once I started reading more about it I was definitely hooked. Being vegan this is perfect for anyone that’s on a diet or living a healthier lifestyle no matter what it is. It’s also full of colorful ingredients that make it great for taking to gatherings and the fact that it’s so healthy … well that’s just the best part of all.
Just made this! YUM! Beautiful and delicious. What more could we ask for :)
I finally got the spiralizer, but I am wondering if you “sweat” your zucchini first?
I just made this last night and it was absolutely amazing! I stumbled upon your website a couple of weeks ago as I had just watched some disturbing documentaries, and was on a quest to begin overhauling my diet. I have made several of your recipes which are all delicious and am anxious to try so much more! Your recipes and personable nature have made me excited for my lifestyle change and give me the feeling that it will not be difficult to maintain.
I am officially addicted to this salad. I have no made it 4 nights in a row lol
hah that’s great Sarah!! So happy you enjoy it :)
This was so good!!! I think I will be making that dressing quite often.
Just made this for lunch. AMAZING! This is a keeper!
Angela, My family became vegan 6 months ago,I was so glad my daughter sent me to your site.I had no idea what to make, your choices are amazing,every recipe has been so good ,Thank you for the great instructions , pictures, but most of all the great tasting recipes.Becoming vegan has been such a great change for us.I have lost 30 pounds and have more energy,my son has lost 25 and his allergies are gone.I look forward to more yummy recipes.This salad is one of our favorites!
Hi Sue, Thank you for this lovely comment. You don’t know how happy this makes me to hear! I’m thrilled to hear about your positive health changes. All my best!
Today my friend and I got together to cook. We made 4 of your recipes. Italian Bean Balls, Eat Your Greens chickpea salad, rainbow pad thai, and your new sweet potato veggie burgers. We whipped a big batch of your sauce up too. It was so fun! Thank you for posting these great recipes.
Hey Sarah, Aw that makes me happy! Thanks for trying all the recipes out. Any favs?
Just made this (finally time for summer food in the Southern Hemisphere) and it was AMAZING! Used peanut butter and it worked perfectly. Thank you!
LOVED this recipe! It was delicious! So excited to have found a make ahead lunch recipe. :)
This is a really great recipe. So good and easy now that I purchased a juliane strip peeler for it. :-)
I just recreated this, having 90% of the ingredients handy after my weekend shop. It is so delicious – and I absolutely love your website. Congratulations on finding what makes you truly happy and doing a kick ass job of it :)
I saw this post it reminded me of the raw pad thai I had at Marbles! I was pleasantly surprised to read that that dish was your inspiration! :) I will have to make this sometime. Yuum!
I made this last night & we were all in love with it! I made Korean vermicelli to put with it & turned it into a main dish. I love your website and am looking forward to trying more delicious recipes, like this one! Keep up the great work, Angela!