It has been a crazy couple of weeks over here in the Cake Pants household. Final exams (both to study for and to grade), term papers to write, a wedding to attend on the opposite side of the country, a two-day professional workshop, and up next, another trip across the country for a graduation ceremony, and then a set of PhD exams at the end of the month…whew! Anyhow, it’s always difficult to plan meals and figure out how much to buy at the grocery store when you’re going to be popping in and out of town, because you don’t want to buy a bunch of stuff and have it go bad because you can’t finish it, but you also don’t want to not buy food since you then end up eating cans of beans and the three-year-old oatmeal bars you find in the back of the pantry.
So we went to the store to buy a few things to tide us over until the next trip, and I had an image of a peanut-y cilantro-y Thai salad in mind that I wanted to create. When we got to the store, though, they were all out of cilantro! All. out. of. cilantro. This was downright blasphemy, as far as I was concerned, especially given that it was two days before Cinco de Mayo. The next store didn’t have any either, and when I realized that they were out of the chocolate chips I needed to make truffles, I threw up my hands in defeat and went home. Luckily, the boyfriend offered to go back to the store the next evening, and by then, they had restocked the cilantro. Crisis averted!
I’ve already made this mango Thai chicken salad twice, and I have a feeling I’ll be making it a lot more this summer – it’s got enough protein to be a whole meal by itself, but it’s a nice light meal that doesn’t leave you feeling weighted down (which is perfect, since as the weather gets warmer, my dog begs ever more insistently for a walk after dinner every night!). The mango, avocado, cilantro, and peanuts complement each other perfectly – the sweetness of the mango, the creamy richness of the avocado, the tanginess of the cilantro, and the crunchy saltiness of the peanuts work together to create a salad you won’t soon forget!
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons water
- 8 ounces romaine lettuce, chopped or shredded
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 2 carrots, grated or shaved
- 1 mango, diced
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1/3 cup salted peanuts
- 10-12 ounces chicken breasts (boneless)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Place the chicken breasts in the pan and cook until the meat is no longer pink in the middle, about 6-7 minutes per side. Once cool enough to touch, chop into bite-sized pieces.
- In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for the peanut dressing. If you store peanut butter in the fridge, microwave for a few seconds to soften before combining with the other ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
- In a large bowl, toss together lettuce, red pepper, carrots, mango, avocado, and chicken pieces. Top with peanuts and cilantro. Spoon the dressing on top and serve.
- Serves 3-4.
- Peanut dressing recipe adapted from Once Upon A Chef.
This looks fantastic! I’ve been looking to make a thai peanut sauce to imitate Au Bon Pain’s, and this looks like a winner!
Oh gosh, I hadn’t even realized Au Bon Pain had a similar salad dressing – if you make this version, let me know how it compares! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
looks yummy! check out our blog and feel free to comment 🙂
Thanks! I’ll be sure to check it out.
This looks absolutely wonderful! I will have to make it when my husband is out of town as he is allergic to peanuts and doesn’t like mango. But it is perfect for me! I love the colorfulness of it and the dressing ingredients. Thanks for sharing this!
Thanks so much, Shari! My brother is allergic to peanuts, too, and I think he’s tried using cashew butter in place of peanut butter in recipes with good results (but if your husband doesn’t like mango, too, cashew butter won’t help with that!).
This looks delicious and sounds perfect for the upcoming warmer months!
I agree! I’m hoping that if I eat this salad enough, somehow that will start to usher in the warmer weather!
Wow!! Gorgeous photos and love all the flavors you’ve come up with. Absolutely amazing and pinning!
Thanks so much, Chelsea!
Oh boy! I have to make this! And I’ve got a ton of cilantro just waiting to be enjoyed in such a salad.
Awesome, I hope you enjoy it!! Using up cilantro is always tricky for me, too.
Actually, the reason I stocked up was to make cilantro pesto. But I bought more than enough.
Ooh, cilantro pesto sounds delicious! Will that recipe be on your blog anytime soon?
Here’s the recipe, though I forgot about the parsley, so I’ll just use more cilantro:
http://swirlsandspice.com/2013/04/25/rice-vermicelli-with-cilantro-pesto-sauce-a-gluten-free-dairy-free-recipe/
Stunning colours! Thanks for your lovely comments on my blog—they made my day. And gosh, I thought I was swamped… you make my schedule look like a cakewalk. Good luck with everything and kudos for simultaneously maintaining such a nice space. It’s somehow strangely encouraging to be reminded that you’re not the only food blogger with a crazy life outside the blog…keep on truckin’ !!
Thanks!! My schedule isn’t always so hectic (thank goodness!), but you’re right – it’s encouraging and inspiring to see (and be part of) a community of very busy bloggers!
Good luck on your exams! I’m going to try out your peanut dressing real soon because we are absolutely addicted to that stuff and it would be good to stop buying bottles of it 😀
Thanks! I hope you like it!
I love how colorful this is. Beautiful photos!
Thanks so much! Indeed, a very cheery-looking salad.