This is a more western version of Pad Thai, without the usual fish sauce and tamarind paste but it makes a satisfying summer salad. Don’t get me wrong, I love peanuts even though they are nut imposters- they are actually legumes. Now I don’t have any qualms with legumes either, but I try to avoid peanuts because they are highly prone to developing aflatoxin. As scary as it sounds, aflatoxins are naturally occurring but carcinogenic mycotoxins produced by a fungus that likes to contaminate peanuts.
While this fungus has been found in other grains and legumes, peanuts are particularly susceptible because they are grown underground without hard shells like real nuts, and when they are in humid conditions this fungus can thrive. Aflatoxins pose the most harm to the liver, even in small doses over time. Luckily there are many other nuts and seeds to experiment with.
- Prawns
- 12-16 raw prawns peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons cold-pressed coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons lemongrass sliced thickly
- 1 jalapeno chopped lengthwise thickly
- 3 garlic cloves sliced in half
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger peeled and sliced thickly
- Dressing
- 2 tablespoons roasted almond butter
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon cold-pressed raw sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon raw apple cider vinegar
- 1 date mashed up
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Salad
- 1 zucchini peeled and julienned (around 4 cups)
- 1 cup mung bean sprouts rinsed well
- ¾ cup red cabbage sliced thinly
- ½ cup carrot shredded
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 2 tablespoons green onion thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- optional: 1 lime cut into wedges to serve with
- optional: ¼ cup almonds chopped
- Prawns
- Heat the coconut oil in a skillet on the stove on medium high. Add in the lemongrass, jalapeno (without seeds for less heat), garlic and ginger and sautée for 1-2 minutes. Add in the prawns and sautée for 2-5 minutes, or until lightly pink. Only the prawns will go into the salad, the other ingredients are just to add layers of flavor during cooking.
- Dressing
- Whisk all the dressing ingredients together and set aside.
- Salad
- Assemble the salad in layers or jumble all together if you prefer. I like to place the zucchini (replacement for regular noodles) on the bottom and then stack the different colored vegetables, then drizzle the salad dressing on, then sprinkle the almonds, sesame seeds, and green onion. Lastly I evenly distribute the shrimp around the edge and put a big mound of cilantro on top.
I love your blog! Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes!
Thanks Ana, I’m glad you like it 🙂