Mango and Snap Pea Noodle Salad with a Tangy Peanut Dressing

This week I have been addicted to peanut butter.

I made this peanut butter banana smoothie until we ran out of ingredients. First I ran out of frozen bananas, and found out that ice + fresh bananas are truly sub-par substitutes. Next, I ran out of peanut butter, too.  I considered making my own homemade peanut butter, but gosh, I am out of peanuts, too. That’s when my addiction stopped. I had to stop cold turkey. It was probably for the better of us both.

Thankfully, I made this salad earlier in the week and have been enjoying it ever since.

Sweet mangoes and sugar snap peas are paired with a tangy, acidic (in a good way) peanut dressing, spiced with green onions and tossed overtop peppery Asian baby greens (bring on the mizuna!). I also added kelp noodles, to add a bit more bulk. They are great additions to salads since they don’t slurp up the extra dressing. I liked that the vinegar in the dressing made this quite a light peanut dressing. I normally pair coconut milk with my peanut dressings, so this was a nice change. Light and refreshing, yet still substantial. Perfect to eat during this hot summer.

This is my submission to Presto Pasta Nights hosted by Ruth, to this week’s Healthy Vegan Fridays, and and to Deb for this week’s Souper Sundays.

Mango and Snap Pea Noodle Salad with a Tangy Peanut Dressing
Adapted from 1000 Vegan Recipes (original recipe here)

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
3/4 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 tsp Aleppo chile flakes
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce (I used Bragg’s)
4-5 tbsp water, to reach your desired consistency
2 cups sugar snap peas, stemmed and thinly sliced on a diagonal
1 carrot, grated (1 cup)
2 cups cucumber, halved and sliced in 1/4-inch slices
10 oz kelp noodles, rinsed
2 medium Ataulfo mangoes (1 cup), peeled and chopped
6 cups mixed baby greens
1/4 cup peanuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

1. First, prepare your dressing. In a small cup, whisk together the garlic, ginger, peanut butter, chile flakes, rice vinegar and soy sauce. Add 3 tbsp of water and whisk until it is smooth. Add more water until it has reached your desired consistency (I added 2 tbsp more water).

2. In a large bowl, mix together the snap peas, carrot, cucumber and kelp noodles. Fold in the mango (it can be delicate).

3. To serve, plate mixed baby greens, top with the salad, drizzle with the dressing and sprinkle toasted peanuts overtop.

Serves 4.