As soon as I received the peanut butter, I realized that I hadn’t made a peanut sauce in a long time. I didn’t simply want to repeat an old recipe, and I thought shredded carrots would go nicely with an Asian-inspired peanut dressing.
Carrot Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing
Ingredients
- 7 carrots, shredded
- 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon less sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon gochujang (Korean red pepper paste; if you don’t have gochujang, you could try using your favorite hot sauce)
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Mix the peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and gochujang until blended. Add the sesame seeds. Mix with the shredded carrots and let marinade in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Servings: 2 - 3
Prep Time: 5 minutes (plus 30 minutes to let marinade)
This is a super quick salad. It has a nice balance of sweetness from the carrots and the peanut butter, acidity from the vinegar, and spiciness from the gochujang. It’s not overly “peanut buttery.” If you like a strong peanut flavor, you should probably add a bit more peanut butter. I’ll definitely make it again.
Questions: Do you like peanut butter? What’s your favorite way to eat it? What’s your favorite way to use it in a recipe?
Be well,
Andrea
So creative! Do you use your food processor to shred carrots? Or do you have a mandolin or something fancy? I hate doing it by hand!
ReplyDelete@Lara: Did it by hand. And, yes, it was a pain!
ReplyDeleteLOVE peanut sauces...yum :) And carrots! I think carrots are one of my favorite veggies. And ironically, my vision is horrible (at least pre-laser eye surgery). That leaf dish is beautiful, Andrea!
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm lucky - my gallbladder doesn't seem to mind nut butters. It's cheeses that send mine into all sorts of tizzies..
wow! I would never think to use pb in something like this but it looks great!
ReplyDeleteI don't like pb by itself but I,like it when it's added in cooking savory dishes, just like this one you created! :)
ReplyDeleteThat looks very pretty. I often add a little peanut butter and the rooster hot sauce to stir-frys.
ReplyDelete:-) Marion
Yum, love that sauce!!! I love that you used that in a carrot salad. How lovely. It would be great as a "coleslaw" too, with cabbage. :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't really eat PB much; I prefer other nut butters, but I love them incorporated into savory dishes.
i often add sriracha to my PB dressing too!
ReplyDeletemy vegan african stew is my fave recipe i've made with PB:
http://theactorsdiet.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/i-dreamed-of-africa/
That sounds great! We generally use PB just for sandwiches.
ReplyDeleteI like peanutbutter but only on a sandwich and with nothing else on it like jelly. I don't use it in recipes.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds good. I use PB in smoothies or as a snack, I don't cook with it that much. Random question- do you like the tastemaker program?
ReplyDeleteThis is going on next week's menu!
ReplyDeleteMy problem is staying out of the peanut butter...
I like PB, but don't go crazy for it. I definitely like it in a sauce, though!
ReplyDeleteThat looks so delicious. I do like PB just good ole real Trader Joes natural peanut butter on whole wheat toast.
ReplyDeleteThis salad sounds delicious! I love peanut sauce on anything and I think it would be lovely with carrots. I must try it!
ReplyDeleteGreat dressing, and I love that you tried something new. I've never had Korean red pepper paste before. WIll have to try this out for sure!
ReplyDeleteThis recipe sounds fantastic!! And, it includes two of Nick and my favorite foods; PB and carrots. Delicious!
ReplyDeleteI will say, however, I'm not a fan of the Plantar's PB. Check out the ingredient list, trans fats....
@Lauren: I enjoy getting products I normally wouldn't buy. In fact, I have found some great products that I now buy regularly (some dark chocolates and coffee come to mind). However, there are also some products I wouldn't buy again, but it's still fun to try them. For example, I don't buy a lot of peanut butter, but the kind I buy has only one ingredient: peanuts. I have to say that it was fun to try the Planters PB however, and it gave the dressing a great consistency.
ReplyDelete@Gina: Yes, it's not a brand I normally buy. In fact, I don't buy a lot of peanut butter, and the one I buy has only peanuts as an ingredient and nothing else (not even salt). I have to say that the Planters PB worked really well in the dressing. It is so smooth and silky; it gave the dressing a great consistency... But I certainly wouldn't eat a lot of it and not on a regular basis...
I like peanut butter TOO MUCH. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI do like peanut butter and carrots so I am certain I would love this dish.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds yummy. I didn't know Planters had a PB-- is this new? Curious as well, what effect does it have on your gallstones? I have noticed some pain (more with peanuts than PB) but I wonder if PB has this effect on me as well.
ReplyDelete@Deborah: Luckily (knock on wood!), I haven't had a bad gallstone episode in quite some time. When I had them in the past, I identified peanuts, peanut butter, and cooked egg yolks as the main culprits (that also seems to be confirmed in the research I read). I do fine with walnuts and almonds and now eat just a little bit of peanut butter once in a while. I also do fine with runny egg yolks.
ReplyDelete