I made this delicious Cambodian Monsoon Salad with a sweet n’ creamy Peanut & Coconut Dressing for a cooking demo on Saturday, and it was quite popular! It’s light and healthy (tons of veggies in there!), and it’s different from your average salad. I find this keeps me from getting “salad fatigue”.
“Is there a back story to this salad?” you might be asking… And yes, there is! I ate an amazing salad in Cambodia called a “Monsoon Salad”. I took a picture of it, as well as a picture of the menu description so that I could try and recreate it.
My version uses crispy romaine lettuce, sauteed mushrooms, cucumbers, jicama, tofu and these crispy asian corn cakes that just wonderful. I bought them at my local H-Mart, where they’re fresh made and sold by the dozen. The only way I can describe them is they’re similar to those rice cakes people that are dieting like to eat, except they’re made out of corn and are much, much better. They’re crisp and just a little bit sweet. I’ve tried to find them online and can’t even figure out what they’re actually called, so if anyone knows please share!
And the dressing? OH THE DRESSING! It’s a sweet peanut and coconut milk concoction that has just the tiniest little edge of heat. It would also be totally incredible on baked tofu, or over noodles. Yum.
Ingredients
- 2 - 3 cups romaine lettuce, washed and chopped
- 2/3 cup cucumber, chopped
- 2/3 cup jicama, cut into matchsticks
- 2/3 cup mushrooms, sliced
- 2/3 cup tofu, fried or baked and cubed
- Mung bean sprouts
- Asian crispy corn cakes, for topping
- Peanut & Coconut dressing (see below)
Instructions
Saute the mushrooms in a small amount of oil or non-stick spray just until they're soft and start to show color, 3-4 minutes.
Blanche the bean sprouts in boiling water for 30-45 seconds, then rinse under cold water.
Combine all ingredients, tossing with the dressing dressing. Top with the crispy corn cakes. Serve immediately!
http://www.thatwasvegan.com/2014/02/10/cambodian-monsoon-salad/
Ingredients
- 10 oz bottled peanut satay sauce
- 3/4 cup light coconut milk
- 3-4 teaspoons Thai chili paste
Instructions
Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Store in airtight container in fridge for 3-4 days.
http://www.thatwasvegan.com/2014/02/10/cambodian-monsoon-salad/
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I had the pleasure of trying this delicious salad on Saturday. It was so good that I wasn’t left with that “buggers, I’m eating a salad” feeling. The jicama tofu sprouts and shrooms all blended together for a beautiful culinary experience! And barb rocked her food demo 🙂
You literally made me LOL when I read “buggers, I’m eating a salad”!!
You sure have a way of posting recipes that coincide with my culinary thoughts. I have been craving salads and wanted to make sure to get bean sprouts to add after thinking about the fried rice I used to get from a Chinese food place in Aurora years ago. They were the only place I know that added bean sprouts and I just loved the little crunch they added. I don’t know why that thought led me to putting them in a salad but it seemed like a great idea. And then you post this! But where the heck is H-Mart? Is that an Asian grocery store?
Sorry, I should’ve linked to it 🙂 It’s a massive asian market in Aurora (it’s basically the Korean Walmart). For some reason they don’t list that store location on their corporate website, but here’s their yelp page: http://www.yelp.com/biz/h-mart-aurora
Im a sucker for creamy pb dressing!