Peanut and Daikon Radish Noodle Salad

One of my favorite dishes of all time is Pad Thai. It’s in a close second with pad see ew, which is also a Thai noodle dish. Basically, I love all things Thai noodle. My love for Thai noodles is primarily due to their amazing combination of sweet, spicy and savory flavors, but for me they’re also one of those foods that are tied to amazing memories.

When I was in high school I spent a few weeks in Thailand with my grandparents and aunt and uncles. At the time I was living in Nepal where my grandparents worked with Tibetan refugees, but over the winter holidays we took a short flight over to Thailand for a conference/vacay and to spend some time in a more stable country over Y2K (remember that??). For the vacation portion of our trip we rented a beach-front house on the gulf of Thailand. The town had once been a vibrant tourist town, but was now deserted – a repercussion of the Asian financial crisis of 1997. Kind of sad, but we had beautiful beaches to ourselves.

Because of the poor economy there were only a few restaurants still in operation. We found a favorite that was about a mile down the road, so every evening, after a strenuous day on our private beach, we would all put on our flip-flops and take a leisurely stroll to get our dinner. At some point during our stay a stray dog joined our entourage. He was all mutt with a touch of corgi-ness and every evening he would expectantly wait for us, tail wagging, and join on us on our walk to and from dinner (there may have been some table scraps involved). Our little friend became such an important part of our stay that we actually took the time to name him “Bowb.” That’s Thai for “Bob.” Not really… I don’t think Bob is a name in Thai… but it suited him.

At this little restaurant I would order some form of Thai noodles EVERY night. Looking back, I wish I would have tried more of the menu, but I do love Thai noodles that much. Now every time I eat Thai noodles I have so many wonderful memories of that trip and that little restaurant. Maybe it was the lapping water against the beach, perhaps it was the local crudely playing American cover songs on his electric guitar in the background, or little Bowb that made these dinners so memorable, but those noodles were amazing.

Today’s recipe is Peanut and Daikon Radish Noodle Salad – a warm Thai salad made from spiralized daikon radish noodles instead of rice noodles. It’s sweet, spicy, savory, crunchy, and full of bright flavor from the raw vegetables. And the best part – it has half the carbs of traditional rice noodles. Happy noodle eating!

Peanut and Daikon Radish Noodle Salad

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 25 minutes                  Cook Time: 3 minutes

Ingredients

Salad:

• 1 lb daikon radish
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 1/2 C frozen and shelled edamame, thawed
• 1 1/2 C diced red pepper
• 1 15 oz can baby corn, drained and chopped
• 2 tsp peanut oil
• 1/3 C green onion, finely diced
• 1/3 C cilantro, chopped
• 1/3 C chopped peanuts

Dressing:

• 1/3 C creamy peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce or liquid aminos
• 3 Tbsp honey or agave nectar if vegan

Directions

1. Using a spiralizer, spiralize the daikon radish on a medium setting (the setting will vary based on the brand of spiralizer you use) and toss in a mixing bowl with 2 Tbsp lime juice. Refrigerate until you’re ready to use.

2. In a small bowl mix together all of the dressing ingredients until creamy and thick, and then set aside.

3. Prep green onions, cilantro, and peanuts for topping and set aside.

4. Prep your edamame, red pepper, and baby corn. Preheat a pan with 2 tsp peanut oil over medium high heat for 1 minute. Add your vegetables to the pan and cook for 3 minutes. Your vegetables should be lightly blackened, but not completely cooked through.

5. While your vegetables are cooking, toss the peanut dressing in with the daikon radish noodles until they are evenly coated and then divide among 4 plates.

6. Top each plate of daikon noodles with the hot, stir-fried veggies. Garnish with fresh green onions and cilantro and serve warm.