Summer is the perfect time for easy-to-make, crispy, refreshing salads. This Thai vegetable salad is all three. It’s also extremely simple to adapt and vary to your liking, which is one of my favorite characteristics of any recipe.
And I love the cookbook this recipe came from. During my last semester of college I went on a bit of a vegetable-happy, anti-meat kick (for a variety of reasons not really interesting enough to share). So for my birthday back in February, my bacon-loving, but ever-understanding (and willing to eat tofu!) boyfriend gave me this cookbook, “200 Veggie Feasts.” It’s a conveniently sized little book FULL of beautiful, mouth-watering photos. It has a wide variety of recipes too, from breakfast and brunch foods to soups, breads, and desserts. It’s one of those cookbooks that has me drooling over the delectable items on every page and wishing I had the time to make every single recipe. Right after I first got the book I even dreamed about the haloumi cheese with pomegranate salsa and couldn’t get the crostini with pea and ricotta pesto off my mind. I’m very pleased to have added it to my small, but growing cookbook collection.
I didn’t have the Lebanese cucumber or Thai basil that the original recipe called for, but it still had the wonderful flavors of a Thai dish–a dash of spice, tangy lime, fresh basil, and peanuts, just to name a few. I used a regular cucumber and basil, omitted the additional herbs and bean sprouts (listed as optional ingredients in the recipe below), and simplified the dressing a bit, but the whole thing still tasted great. A good salad is the perfect choice for a lazy summer day, and this one is definitely a keeper.
Thai Vegetable Salad
Recipe adapted from 200 Veggie Feasts by Louise Pickford
8 oz cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1 mango, cubed or thinly sliced
4 scallions, thinly sliced
handful unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped
small handful basil leaves (about 5-7 leaves), finely sliced
small handful mint leaves, finely sliced (optional)
small handful cilantro, finely sliced (optional)
2 1/2 c. bean sprouts (optional)
Dressing
2 Tbsp chili garlic sauce (or another chili sauce you like)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp lime juice
4 tsp brown sugar
Make the dressing by adding all ingredients to a small bowl and whisking until combined. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed.
Prepare salad ingredients and combine in a large bowl. Toss well with dressing (or serve dressing on the side if desired) and garnish with chopped peanuts.
Much Ado About Pie 
Yum sounds great Michelle! Will have to try it.