Thai-riffic Salad

We absolutely love Thai food, and while it may seem complicated it really is fairly simple if you keep a couple basic principles in mind. The key to all Thai food is the balance between sweet, salty, hot and sour flavours, all you have to do is balance them to your personal tastes.  We created this salad using basic pantry ingredients, no need to go out and buy a lot of unusual ingredients.  This salad is fantastic with grilled steak sliced thinly on top. Serves 4 as a side dish.

Ingredients:
For the salad:

1 cup snow peas (sliced thinly)

2 cups bean sprouts
1 red pepper (seeded and sliced thinly)
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
2 green onions (sliced)
1/2 cup roasted peanuts 

1 cup of cucumber (in chunks)

1 carrot (peeled and grated)

For the dressing:

3 tablespoons peanut butter

4 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon sriracha or chili sauce
1 lime (rind and juice)

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Mix the snow peas, bean sprouts, carrot, red pepper, cilantro, mint, green onions, and peanuts in a large bowl.
2. Mix the peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, chili paste and lime juice and zest in a small bowl. Taste and adjust for your taste.
3. Pour the dressing on the salad and toss.