Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Arugula and Tilapia Salad with Thai Peanut Dressing

Yum
 I was really craving a light lunch when I threw this salad together.  Although I wanted it to be light, I certainly did not want it to be light on flavor.  I wanted a really flavorful salad dressing to jazz up this salad. I thought back to one of my favorite dipping sauces from when I made Chicken Satay and knew I had to create a salad dressing out of it. It only took me five minutes to get ready and I'm almost embarrassed to say I could have licked the plate clean.  The real star in this meal is the dressing.  You can throw together any green for the salad and any grilled meat or tofu for your protein on the salad.  This dressing will work great on anything.  If you love Thai peanut sauces, give this one a try.

 Ingredients to make Spicy Thai Peanut Dressing:

1cup coconut milk
1/3 cup of water
1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter (I used Jiff)
1 Tbs of brown sugar
1 Tbs of soy sauce
1/2 Tbs of fish sauce
1 small handful of Thai basil leaves torn (you can substitute regular basil)
1/2 tsp of red chili flakes (or to taste)
roasted crush peanuts for garnish (optional)

Directions:  Heat a saucepan on medium-low heat.  Add all ingredients and stir until everything mixes well and the peanut butter melts.   Allow to cook a few minutes.  If sauce is too thick for salad dressing add a little water to thin it out.  Adjust flavors/seasoning to your palate by adding more soy sauce or fish sauce for a saltier flavor or brown sugar to sweeten it. Serve warm or at room temperature.  Enjoy.  

 Ingredients for pan fried Tilapia:

1lb of fresh tilapia fillets
1/2 cup of cornstarch seasoned with some salt and black pepper
2 Tbs of canola oil







Directions:
Heat oil and pan fry fish fillets on both sides until browned and cooked through.






Ingredients for Salad:
Any style of lettuce (arugula, romaine, iceberg etc..)
red tomatoes diced or grape tomatoes
onions thinly sliced
red or green bell peppers sliced
crushed roasted peanuts to garnish
Green Onions/Scallions to garnish

Layer all ingredients together, place your protein of choice on top and drizzle with Peanut Dressing.  Garnish with more peanuts and scallions.  Enjoy

 Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

21 comments:

  1. superbly done......luks so delicious n yummy

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  2. I do so enjoy arugula salad (in SA we call it "wild rocket").

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  3. Coconut milk and peanut butter? Sounds delicious! In fact, the whole recipe sounds scrumptious. This salad might actually get me to liking tilapia! :)

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  4. That peanut sauce looks delicious!

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  5. Great salad and salad dressing recipe. Wow!
    I'm giving away a salad dressing shaker this week. You should enter! It's perfect for homemade salads like this. :)
    http://learntocookbadgergirl.com/?p=2363

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  6. I have to say your sauces always look very tempting! It's amazing! My Hubs doesn't like fish at all, but maybe I could make it with chicken? Have a great day, Ramona!

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  7. Very interesting dish - I've never had tilapia in a salad, but why not? I love other fish salads. I'm not a lover of peanut sauce, so I'd probably go for another dressing for myself, but this looks like a great, flavorful healthy dish :)

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  8. The spicy Thai peanut dressing sounds awesome!!

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  9. Will you please send me some of your energy and creativity please? You come up with one great recipe after another. You go Girl!

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  10. I have a salad for lunch today and all I can think is that I want some of that dressing!

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  11. My two favorite arugula + tilapia but i never have them together,so this is an idea to me and that Thai peanut dressing,,,,Yummy i'm sure adding YummY taste to the salad :)
    Ridwan

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  12. This dressing sounds perfect! What a great salad for a light lunch.

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  13. This looks great & I absolutely love peanut based dressings excellent post!

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  14. Ramona...this looks so scrumptious! I love having a light salad with a bit of protein like chicken or fish on top. And I LOVE peanut sauce, though I've not yet attempted to make it for myself! So I think that is a perfect flavor for the dressing here! I love the dishes you so easily 'whip up'! : )

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  15. awesome salad, i love salads like these and i also love thai peanut sauce!!

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  16. That looks delicious! Before I developed an allergy to fish, I adored tilapia! Terrific recipe!

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  17. Oh my goodness what a lovely lunch! Definitely not skimpy on the taste I am sure!

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  18. Oh, how fabulous! I'd have this for lunch AND dinner...such a light and lovely entree!

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  19. i am a big fan of arugula and am hoping to have a whole garden bed full of it this summer. this sounds like a great way to eat it!

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  20. Hmm...sounds nice. Never thought of adding fish for the salad as chicken or beef are more common. Love this Thai flavor here.

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