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Colorful Thai Quinoa Vegetable Salad
In mid-September, I helped plan a stick-to-your-ribs kind of salad as an accompaniment to fish and Lemony Red Lentil Soup for the evening meal prior to Yom Kippur. The original quinoa side dish appeared on one of the pressure cooking sites I like to frequent, and it seemed intriguing. I love edamame beans, this seemed easy and could be made one day ahead of the meal.
The directions seemed fairly straightforward and simple, although I had never cooked quinoa in a pressure cooker. The recipe stated that the quinoa would cook in one minute. I measured the water and rinsed the quinoa, sealed the cooker but put a silicone sling and bowl to hold the quinoa inside. (Full disclosure, the recipe did not call for this modification but I figured I was the Queen of Pressure Cookers and the sling and bowl would make cleanup a snap). It seemed to be taking a long time to have quinoa come to full pressure…and then my smoke alarm went off with the “lady” saying there was smoke in the kitchen. I took the cooker off the stovetop and opened it (it hadn’t started to pressurize). The silicone ring had burned and the bottom of my pot was blackened and a mess.
Not to worry, between baking soda and salt and Oxiclean, I got the pot back in tip top shape. I regrouped and made the quinoa the old fashioned way and it was simple. Everything else came together easily and the result was more than I hoped for. My three grandkids and the five adults loved this dish, and I will be making it many more times this fall and winter.
Thai Quinoa Vegetable Salad
Makes 10 servings
Salad Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well until the water runs clear
- 1 ½ cups water
- ½ tsp table salt
- 1 cup frozen shelled edamame beans, defrosted and dried
- 1 large carrot, peeled and shredded on a box shredder
- ½ English cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced the same size as the edamames
- 1 bunch (5-6) green onions, cleaned and sliced thinly – use the white and light green parts only
- 2 ½ cups finely shredded raw red cabbage
Dressing Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Tamari sauce
- ¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp peeled and grated ginger
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Garnish Ingredients
- ½ cup roasted salted peanuts
- ⅓ cup fresh chopped herbs-we used basil, dill and cilantro combined
Instructions:
Combine rinsed quinoa and water and salt to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer and cover for 20 minutes until water is absorbed. Take off the heat, fluff and let cool
Add the rest of the ingredients to the cooled quinoa. Gently add the dressing and taste to see if you want it spicier or sweeter. You can stop here and keep the salad in the refrigerator for a day before serving.
Top with chopped herbs and salted peanuts right before serving.
Cooks note: I really thought this was going to be a salad much like the broccoli cabbage salad I recently posted. It is quite different and for me, a little more unusual.
