Delicious Thai Salad Crunchy Cashew Quinoa

This amazing crunchy cashew Thai quinoa salad is both vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free. It is a very healthy and nutritious salad, and you can be sure it will have you coming back for more. This salad has a perfect crunch to the leaves and using cashew nuts! It’s fun to eat, and will taste even better the next day when all the ingredients have fully mixed together! The cuisine is suitable for Asian and Thai theme parties and potlucks! Pair this salad with noodles, rice, fish, and other vegetable dishes to make a full Asia cuisine!

The total cooking time will be 25 minutes and this is broken into preparation time of 10 minutes, and cooking time of 15 minutes.

The ingredients you will need include: 3/4 cups of uncooked quinoa, 1-2 cups of shredded red cabbage, 1 bell pepper, 1 diced red onion, 1 cup of shredded carrots, a half cup of cilantro, some fresh lime, 1/4 cup of green onions diced, 1/2 of cashew halves that are honey roasted, and an optional cup of edamame or chickpeas. For the dressing of the salad, you will need 1/4 cups of peanut butter (organic), 2 teaspoons of ginger (freshly grated), 3 tablespoons of soya sauce, 1 tablespoon of agave syrup or honey, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and a tiny bit of water for thinning the salad dressing as necessary.

Cooking Instructions:

First, start by preparing the quinoa with a saucepan and 2 cups of boiling water. Quinoa can be rinsed and then cooked. Add 2 cups of boiling water to 1 cup of quinoa in a saucepan. Reduce to low and simmer until the moisture has been absorbed by the quinoa. Be careful not to leave this on for too long or the quinoa can burn easily. Take the saucepan off of the burner, and leave it for 15 minutes to cool.

Next, mix and fluff the mixture with a fork. For preparing the salad dressing, mix the honey and peanut butter in a small saucepan until it is all melted together. Add and stir in the soya sauce, vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil, and mix this together until it is very creamy and smooth.

Add water for creating your desired consistency of the dressing. Mix together the vegetables and herbs including the red pepper, red cabbage, onion, carrots, and cilantro. Add the dressing into both the quinoa and the vegetables and toss for 30 seconds.

Finally, when ready to serve, spritz a bit of lime juice onto the tops of the salad and garnish the salad with cashews and green onions. This delicious salad can be served at room temperature or slightly chilled. The great thing about this salad is that it is delicious, it is a great starter for larger meals, it has a mixture of herbs, vegetables, and protein, and it can serve six people in one recipe.

Nutrition Information: Each serving size has 260 calories, 13.6 grams of fat, 27.7 grams of carbohydrates, only 7 grams of sugar, 4.3 grams of daily fiber, and 8.6 grams of protein. This makes it a perfect, balanced, and healthy meal for your dinner party and special occasion.