1-2cups shredded red cabbage (, depending on how much crunch you like)
1 red bell pepper (, diced)
½ red onion (, diced)
1cup shredded carrots
½cup chopped cilantro
¼cup diced green onions
½cup cashew halves or peanuts ((honey-roasted is good))
Optional: 1 cup edamame or chickpeas
Fresh lime (, for a bit of tang)
For the dressing:
¼cup all natural peanut butter
2teaspoons freshly grated ginger
3tablespoon soy sauce (, gluten-free if desired)
1tablespoon honey ((use agave if vegan))
1tablespoon red wine vinegar
1teaspoon sesame oil
1teaspoon olive oil
Water to thin (, if necessary)
Instructions
To cook quinoa: Rinse quinoa with cold water in mesh strainer. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups of water to a boil. Add in quinoa and bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa has absorbed all of the water. Remove from heat and fluff quinoa with fork; place in large bowl and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes. You should have a little over 2 cups of quinoa.
To make dressing: Add peanut butter and honey or agave to a medium microwave safe bowl; heat in microwave for 20 seconds. Add in ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, and both sesame and olive oil and stir until mixture is smooth and creamy. If you want a thinner dressing, simply stir in a teaspoon or two of water or olive oil.
Add as much or as little dressing as you’d like to the quinoa. I always start out with a little bit of dressing and usually add more to suit my taste preferences. Alternatively you can save the dressing for later and add when you are ready to eat; however the flavors of the dressing usually soak into the salad so I love adding it to the quinoa first.
Next fold in red pepper, onion, cabbage, carrots, and cilantro into the quinoa. Garnish with cashews and green onions. Serve chilled or at room temperature with lime wedges if desired.