Salads Vegan

Thai Cabbage Rainbow Salad (and a Homemade Sweet Chilli Sauce)

May 2, 2016
Thai Cabbage Salad

Today is a bank holiday in Spain and if it is also for you, I hope you’re enjoying it and making the most of it 🙂 I started my day with a long walk with my dogs, then 30 minutes of yoga on the terrace, I’ll be having tea with some friends later and then going to the mountains to photograph the sunset from the peak of Sierra Bermeja, the mountain range of Estepona. Pretty productive, I’d say 😀

The weather is finally starting to look like summer and that means more salads are making it onto our daily menu. I don’t know about you but I get bored with salads pretty quickly and cannot stand eating anything bland. If I make a salad, it has to have a wow factor which blows you away, otherwise I don’t make it again. I have made this Thai Cabbage Salad many times and all my friends and family that have tasted it raved about it (even the meat-eaters), so I think it passes the test. Crunchy, sweet, spicy, juicy… it has it all 🙂 Perfect for barbecues, long summer evenings or whenever you fancy something yummy and healthy.

The star of the show here is definitely the Thai peanut butter – sweet chilli sauce dressing, which is sooooo good. You can use a store-bought sweet chilli sauce, which I did for a long time until I looked at the ingredients one day and decided to experiment with my own. I really recommend you prepare my homemade sweet chilli sauce, which is delicious, clean and natural – no refined sugar, just honey. You can cook a big batch, then store in a jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and it is really easy to make (apart from trying to remember not to touch your eyes or lick your fingers just after you’ve de-seeded and cut chillies… yes, I’ve learned the hard way).

Homemade Sweet Chilli Sauce

I used a mix of red, green and yellow chillies and de-seeded them all and the sauce still has quite a kick to it. If you are a lover of extra-hot sauce, you can leave some seeds in. I also added half a red pepper to make it milder and sweeter. Once you’ve de-seeded your chillies and pepper, all you do is throw it in the blender with the apple cider vinegar and blend until very finely minced. Then combine in a pot with the water and honey, bring to boil and cook for about 15 – 18 minutes. At this point, it will look like it’s too runny, but it’ll thicken up as it’s cooling down. Take off the heat, let cool and you’re done! Delicious homemade clean sweet chilli sauce under your belt 🙂

Homemade Sweet Chilli Sauce

Homemade Sweet Chilli Sauce

Once you have your sweet chilli sauce prepared, the salad is a 20 minute-quickie. Prepare your dressing first by mixing peanut butter (you can use smooth or crunchy, according to your preferences) with the sweet chilli sauce, lemon juice and water.

Chop and cut all of your veggies…

Thai Cabbage Salad

…toss together…

Thai Cabbage Salad

…admire how beautiful the rainbow of veggies is :)…

Thai Cabbage Salad

…drizzle generously with the dressing and hemp seeds and enjoy!

Thai Cabbage Salad

Thai Cabbage Rainbow Salad
Serves 4
A beautiful rainbow of ingredients in this coleslaw-type salad served with irresistible Thai style peanut butter and sweet chilli sauce dressing.
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Prep Time
20 min
Total Time
20 min
Prep Time
20 min
Total Time
20 min
For the salad
  1. 1 small purple cabbage, shredded
  2. 2 cups carrots, shredded
  3. 2 cups cucumber, sliced
  4. 2 cups spinach, shredded
  5. 1/2 cup spring onions, finely chopped
  6. 1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
  7. 2 avocados, peeled and sliced
  8. 2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
  9. 1 tablespoon hemp seeds
For the dressing
  1. 3 tablespoons homemade sweet chilli sauce (recipe below)
  2. 3 tablespoons peanut butter
  3. juice of 1 lemon
  4. 2 - 3 tablespoons of water
Instructions
  1. Combine all of the salad ingredients except for hemp seeds in a large bowl.
  2. In a smaller bowl, combine all the ingredients for the dressing and add water according to how thick you like your sauce.
  3. Drizzle the salad generously with the dressing, sprinkle with hemp seeds and serve 🙂
A Teaspoon of Sunshine https://ateaspoonofsunshine.com/wp/
Homemade Clean Sweet Chilli Sauce
Yields 1
Homemade sweet chilli sauce, which is delicious, clean and natural - no refined sugar, just honey. You can cook a big batch, then store in a jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and it is really easy to make!
Write a review
Print
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
1 hr
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
1 hr
Ingredients
  1. 1/2 cup chillies, de-seeded (I used three 10cm chillies)
  2. 1/2 large red pepper, de-seeded
  3. 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  4. 1/4 cup water
  5. 1/2 cup honey
Instructions
  1. Put apple cider vinegar, de-seeded chillies and red pepper into the blender and finely mince.
  2. Add to a pot together with the water and honey and bring to boil.
  3. Once it starts bubbling away, cook for about 15 - 18 minutes.
  4. Take off the heat and let cool. Even though it might look too runny, it will thicken up whilst cooling down.
  5. Use immediately or store in a jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
  1. If you like your sauce really hot, leave some of the seeds in.
A Teaspoon of Sunshine https://ateaspoonofsunshine.com/wp/

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2 Comments

  • Reply Jarka May 3, 2016 at 9:17 am

    Wow, je to stále lepÅ¡ie a lepÅ¡ie. Profesionálne foto, jednoducho perfekcionistka …

    • Reply Lucia - A Teaspoon of Sunshine May 3, 2016 at 9:05 pm

      Diky maminka 🙂 🙂 🙂

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