Thai Quinoa Salad

This quinoa salad is the truth. // Instagram @kguymon

I eat a decent amount of quinoa, but that doesn't mean that I necessarily love it. Like, I don't wanna take quinoa back behind a middle school and get it pregnant. (Thank you, Tracy Jordan.) I just kind of endure it because I know it's healthy, and unfortunately, I can't sit around eating pasta salad all day. Carbs are perhaps my worst enemy.

There are approximately 42,000 cold quinoa salad recipes on Pinterest, and I've tried approximately 41, 567 of them. But, very few stand out as better tasting than, say, my flip flops. However, this particular Thai quinoa salad is something altogether different.

It's scrumptious. Yup, I just used that word. What of it?




Thai Quinoa Salad [adapted from Ambitious Kitchen]

-¾ cup uncooked quinoa
-1/2 head of red cabbage, diced
-1 red bell pepper, diced
-½ red onion, diced
-1 cup shredded carrots
-½ cup honey roasted cashews
-½ cup chopped cilantro
-¼ cup diced green onions
-¼ cup peanut butter
-2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
-3 tablespoons of soy sauce
-1 tablespoon of honey
-1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
-1 teaspoon of sesame oil
-1 teaspoon of olive oil
-3-4 tablespoons of water

1. Rinse the quinoa with cold water in a mesh strainer. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil. Add the quinoa and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and let simmer for fifteen minutes. Remove from the heat and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Let cool until room temperature.

2. To make the dressing, mix the peanut butter and honey in a small bowl and heat in the microwave for twenty seconds. Add in the ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and olive oil. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Thin with water and whisk again.

3. Stir in the red pepper, red onion, cabbage, carrots, cashews, and cilantro into the quinoa. Add the dressing and mix thoroughly.

4. Garnish with green onions.