This zesty version of pad thai is packed with flavour

Pad thai is one of my favorite Thai dishes. Originating from Vietnam, it usually consists of pho noodles, vegetables, meat and a generous sprinkling of peanuts, spring onions and coriander. This week, I am suggesting another approach to pad thai: a vegetable-packed salad with a creamy nut dressing.

Years ago, for my 16th birthday, I ate my way around Thailand and Vietnam, falling in love with the cuisine. The heat was stifling and intense yet the food remained fresh, with pungent herbs in abundance such as Thai basil, mint and coriander, with zesty lime juice in dressings and dips. The distinctive salty fish sauce provided seasoning to almost every dish.

Everything tastes good with nuoc cham, the addictive Vietnamese dipping sauce that consists of fish sauce, lime juice, a little sugar, water, a crushed garlic clove and chilli. It’s delicious with crab cakes, spring rolls, prawns, or can even be used as a dressing for a salad.

A healthy herb-packed dish like this is perfect for when you are aiming to include more vegetables in your diet. I always turn to bright, punchy dressings, plenty of herbs, and variety in terms of texture and colour when it comes to vegetables. This winning combination makes the dish tastier and more appealing.

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Red cabbage, with its rich, dramatic colour and crunchy texture, is a powerhouse of polyphenols. I’m always amazed too how much each head of cabbage yields.

To make this salad more substantial I’ve added some noodles, or you can add more vegetables such as finely sliced chard or baby spinach leaves, bean sprouts or yellow peppers. Although it can be served as a meal in itself, it’s also a gorgeous alternative side salad to serve at a barbecue or alongside roast chicken. Deep-fried crispy shallots are delicious sprinkled over the top of this dish, but the roasted peanuts add great texture too.

Recipe: Pad thai salad

Lilly’s Kitchen Tips

• Use a mandolin or food processor for finely shredding cabbage. Slice the entire cabbage and keep the remainder submerged in a sealed Tupperware with water. This keeps it fresh and crunchy for adding handfuls to stir frys and salads.
• Keep the seeds from cucumbers for blitzing with yoghurt and mint to make a refreshing drink, Afghan dough, or add to your morning smoothies.
• Make double the amount of dressing for dipping crunchy veg into as the perfect mid-afternoon snack.