Banana Blossom Salad
Sarah Jansala, with the help of her mom, Renoo, opened the first vegetarian Thai restaurant in Portland, Oregon, KaTi Portland. In their cookbook, Vegan Thai Kitchen, the Jansala mother–daughter duo has squeezed all of their generational and industry knowledge into one simple guide to traditional Thai food. Reprinted with permission from Vegan Thai Kitchen by Sarah Jansala and Renoo Jansala, Page Street Publishing Co. 2019. Photo credit: Toni Zernik
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 1 tsp ground chile powder
- 1 & 1⁄2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1⁄4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 3 tbsp tamari
- ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vegan Thai sweet chili paste (nam prik pao)
Salad:
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp bean paste can be substituted with 1⁄4 tsp salt
- 8 button mushrooms halved
- 2 packages Upton's Naturals Banana Blossom
- ½ cup water
- 8 tbsp toasted coconut flakes
- 8 tbsp roasted peanuts or cashews
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- 4 tbsp finely sliced red onion
- 4 tbsp finely sliced green onion
- 4 kaffir lime leaves finely chopped (optional)
- 3 cups spring salad mix
- 8 tbsp fried shallot
- ½ cup mint leaves
Instructions
- To make the dressing, combine the chile powder, garlic, sugar, lime juice, tamari, apple cider vinegar, salt and chili paste in a small bowl and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
- To make the salad, heat the oil in a pan over high heat, add the bean paste, mushrooms, Banana Blossoms and water and cook until the vegetables are softened and the water has dried up; transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Add the coconut flakes, peanuts, cilantro, red onion, green onion, lime leaves, if using, and the dressing and toss until well combined. Make a bed of greens on a plate, top with the salad mixture and garnish with the fried shallot and mint.