April 30, 2009
(last updated January 27, 2020) 
Tonight’s dinner was inspired by Tuesday’s lunch. On Tuesday, in unseasonably sweltering heat, I met a friend at Caravan of Dreams, which is a vegan lunch spot tucked away on 6th street. I like Caravan because it’s cozy, welcoming, and it has an extensive vegan menu with both raw and cooked options.
On this visit, I decided to try the restaurant’s Thai avocado salad, “a mixture of avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers, nori pieces, and carrots served over fresh onganic seasonal greens tossed in Thai spicy citrus dressing.” Of course, I forgot to take a photo. But fear not: I liked it so much that I decided to re-interpret the spicy Thai salad tonight.
This salad is so flavorful. It’s sweet, spicy, and infused with fresh basil and cilantro. The dressing is avocado based, and it’s thick and tasty enough to serve as a vegetable dip as well as a salad dressing. Poured over spirals of carrots, cucumber, red peppers, red cabbage, and pea shoots, it’s absolutely divine. And some extra avocado doesn’t hurt the finished salad, either.
Spicy Thai Salad
Recipe Type: salad
Cuisine: vegan, raw, gluten free, soy free, no oil, tree nut free
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: Makes 3-4 servings
Ingredients
- For the spicy Thai dressing:
- 1/2 Hass avocado
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil
- 2 pitted Medjool dates
- 1/2 inch peeled raw ginger root
- ¼ tsp salt (more to taste)
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- For the salad:
- 2 cups spiralized or thinly sliced cucumber
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
- 2 cups grated carrot
- 1 cup pea shoots
- 3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- [i]Optional[/i]: 1 ataulfo mango, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
- [i]Optional[/i]: 1/2 cup shelled, steamed edamame
Instructions
- Blend all dressing ingredients in a blender till smooth.
- Pour dressing over all salad ingredients. Toss well to combine and serve.
It was absolutely delicious! Alongside some baked sweet potato (which I forgot to photograph), it made for a great meal. This one will definitely be a keeper for summer.
That’s it for now, all – have a great night 🙂
xo
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Almond Butter and Jelly Stuffed Potato Noodle Bun! I want to try it!!! I need this spiralizer ๐
OMG….can’t wait to try this recipe. Love salads and this one looks fantastic. Thank you.
I just happened to stumble on your site looking for Chia seed pudding recipe. Have been browsing for about 2 hours now and am obsessed!!!! Not even vegetarian but am starting a raw food diet for a few weeks and am so excited now with all of the yummy New recipes I’ve found on ur site. P.S – just ordered the Spirooli! Can’t wait to use it. Thanks so much
I would like to try collard greens – with kale – a lovely eggplant with some zucchini with a Delicious sauce to go with it .. yum
Oh how I wish I had a spiralizer! I’ve been dreaming of making sweet potato noodles for weeks now! It’s so brilliant.
Fingers crossed!
I would love to experiment with a raw version of pad thai; zucchini noodles, a smooth cashew sauce, and lots of other veggies.
Ohh I love the avocado slices on this one! It makes my mouth water.. that has to be one of my favorite ingredients on a salad. They are just melt in your mouth. Delicious.
-Molly
Antique Jewelry
I just finished making and eating this salad. It was INCREDIBLE! Yum Yum Yum I can’t wait to have it again ๐ Thank you
I really want to try THIS recipe. I love thai food. I have been wanting a spiralizer for a while. I want to make noodles of veggies and each with marinara sauce or a nooch โcheeseโ sauce.
nevermind, I just realized this was an OLD giveawayโฆ so sad!
I really want to try THIS recipe. I love thai food. I have been wanting a spiralizer for a while. I want to make noodles of veggies and each with marinara sauce or a nooch “cheese” sauce.
Hi
I’m in pudding-mood. I’ve read so much about puddings and now I’m reading Brendan Braziers Thrive, and really want to make a pudding, but I havent done it yet. And i want to surpise my boyfriend with a good post-workout pudding:)
And i want to use my chia-seeds in my pudding
nevermind, I just realized this was an OLD giveaway… so sad!
I WANT THIS SO BAD!!! I keep meaning to order one, but the shipping is more expensive than the actual product. I would make some fabulous veggie pasta!! ๐ YUM!
Aloha,
I just started yesterday to eat raw food.
I hope it will work for me because from what
I read, it seems the only way to benefit from
from the food we eat.
Thank you for all the information.
S
I think I will try to recommend this post to my friends and family, cuz it’s really helpful.
I would love to try raw zucchini spaghetti with raw pumpkin seed parmesan and marinara! MMMM… I’ve always wanted to buy devices especially for raw cooking such as blenders and dehydrators but I can’t afford it. the spiralizer is such a great idea! =)