Crunchy Asian Salad

We thought that we would share a new favorite recipe that we have been whipping up quite frequently.  We actually had it tonight with some friends who were over and they all loved it!  It doesn’t seem super Christmas-ey, but with the red cabbage you can add some pretty color to the table.

I am a bit of an obsessive eater.  When I find something that I like, I make it all of the time, go a little overboard, love it for three weeks and then never eat it again.  I am trying to get better at this, but it is hard to stop when you find something so yummy!  Here is our crunchy Asian salad recipe inspired by this site and this site:

Toss together the following:

• 1 head of lettuce or bunch of spinach
• 1 head of red cabbage
• 2 medium carrots
• 1/2 bunch of cilantro
• 1/2 bunch of green onions
• 1/2 onion
• 1 cup of peanuts (we add “hot and spicy”) 
• strips of cooked chicken (optional)

For the dressing, blend the following:

• 1/4 cup vegetable (canola) oil
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 T. soy sauce
• 1 T. peanut butter
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 tsp. grated ginger
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper

We usually double the batch.  Extra salad dressing in the fridge is never a problem!

Toss together and serve it up!  We hope that you enjoy it as much as we do.  And the best part is that here in Nicaragua, we are still finding about half of the necessary ingredients in our home garden.