Copycat Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing
Savory Asian Flavors
I created this Copycat Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing based on one of my addictions from California Pizza Kitchen. CPK is a chain restaurant that is known for unique pizzas and fresh salads and this salad is my favorite.
It used to be called the Chinese Chicken Salad. The good news is that while the salad’s name changed, the dark brown peanut dressing did not. Occasionally I let myself splurge and have the salad delivered and I always get two of the dressings.
This was getting expensive, so I decided to make it myself, hence the recipe for this Copycat Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing. I was able to recreate it with ingredients that are really easy to find in most chain grocery stores.
The Copycat Thai Crunch Salad is full of crunchy vegetables as well as a peanut dressing that is creamy and embodies all the umami flavors.
The full recipe is linked below. It is also a printable. Beyond that are a few more paragraphs and pictures to make sure you get it right.
Full, Printable Recipe
Copycat Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing
A colorful and crunchy salad with a peanut dressing that can be made spicy or not spicy. Makes a bog portion that can be party size or meal prep for lunches for a couple days. This salad is meat free, but you can add chicken or salmon as well.
Ingredients
- 4 cups of chopped romaine
- 3 cups of spinach sliced into ribbons
- 1 to 2 cup of shredded purple cabbage
- 1 medium sized cucumber, diced
- 1 pint of grape tomatoes cut into quarters
- 3 large carrots, shredded
- 1 medium red onion, sliced very thin or shaved on a mandolin or veggie peeler
- For The Dressing
- 2 heaping tablespoons of peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
- 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 1/2 cup of seasoned rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup of a mild tasting oil
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- 1/4 cup of honey
- 1 tablespoon of Chili Garlic Sauce (optional)
- *picture of this and where to buy in post
- couple of shakes of garlic and onion powder and black pepper, season to taste, you can always add more at the end
- Everything But The Bagel Seasoning to serve
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients for the dressing to a blender and blend. I recommend adding the seasoning and the chili garlic sauce a little at a time, tasting and then adding more if needed. If you don't have a blender you can whisk vigorously in a bowl.
- Refrigerate the dressing for 2 hours before serving. Will keep in fridge for about a week, maybe even two.
- I present the salad with all the veggies on top and then toss it right before serving,
- Sprinkle the Everything but the bagel seasoning on each serving, drizzled with the dressing.
Veggies Galore
I use tomatoes, cucumber, shredded carrots, cabbage, and onions for my version of this salad. The good news is that the veggies are interchangeable.
Feel free to use any veggies you prefer! Well, I do have some guidelines.
The key to a good salad is that you have some differentiation in textures and that you also make the veggies easy to eat by cutting, slicing, and dicing them in ways that are appealing.
For example, I shave the onions for this salad because large chunks of onion are too strong for most people. I dice the cucumber and tomato so that you have sweet, crunchy bites.
Shredded carrots add great texture and are also easy to eat.
The BEST Dressing
The peanut dressing is my favorite thing about this salad.
It does need time to sit in the fridge for about two hours so that all the flavors come together, so be sure you take that into account.
I like to make mine spicy with the chili garlic sauce. If you do not like spice, you can leave this out or reduce the amount I recommend.
I have been able to easily find this sauce in all grocery stores, even in rural areas. It is pictured below.
If you don’t have access to buy it in the store, you can also order on Amazon. If you look for it in the grocery store, it is always in the aisle with the Asian ingredients.
Meaty, Yet No Meat
What I love about this salad is that, because of the dressing, you get the feeling of eating meat without eating meat.
They call nuts “sweet meats” in the food industry. I mention this because even if you live with a meat lover, they won’t miss it with this salad.
If you DO want to serve a protein with this salad, try making one of my Chicken Tender Recipes. I love this Snap, Crackle Pop Chicken as well as my simple recipe for baked chicken tenders.
These are made with parmesan cheese and pancake mix. They’re so easy to make and delicious and they will both go great with the salad.
Everything But The Bagel
The seasoning I use on the salad is Everything But The bagel Seasoning.
This is a mix of sesame seeds, onions, poppy seeds, and garlic. They sell this mix all over, I have even gotten it at Aldi.
There is a picture of it below. I like to add this at the end on top of the salad before serving as it adds another layer of flavor and crunch.
