Bean Sprouts and Broccoli Slaw Salad with Coconut-Ginger Dressing

The dipping sauce for the Miang Kum Rolls was still on my mind yesterday morning when I needed to throw together a couple of quick dishes for a potluck lunch. I'd decided to make the Thai-Style Vegetable Curry that I'd made the very first week of this blog; we'd loved it and planned to have it again, but the problem with writing a food blog is that you need to be cooking new dishes constantly so you have something to write about. Yesterday's potluck was a good excuse to make a dish that had already been tried and loved.

But it was also a good chance to try something new. I had a bag of mung bean sprouts that I needed to use before they went bad and an idea for the dressing. I decided to throw in some packaged broccoli slaw and sliced red pepper to create another delicious Thai-inspired dish:

Bean Sprouts and Broccoli Slaw Salad with Coconut-Ginger Dressing

Sauce:
1/4 cup plus one tablespoon toasted coconut (reserve 1 tbsp. for garnish)
1 tablespoon peeled and coarsely chopped ginger
1 tablespoon chopped green onion (shallots may also be used)
1 teaspoon light-colored miso
1/3 cup vegetable broth
1/8 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup dark vegan sugar (palm sugar, if available, but both turbinado and demerara work well)
1/4 teaspoon tamarind concentrate (or 1/8 cup tamarind liquid)
2 teaspoons soy sauce

Salad:
4 cups mung bean sprouts
4 cups broccoli slaw (shredded broccoli stems, cabbage, and carrots)
1/2 cup slivered red bell pepper

Toast the coconut and set one tablespoon of it aside. Place the other 1/4 cup of toasted coconut into the blender along with the other sauce ingredients. Blend until relatively smooth, scraping the sides of the blender as needed.

Bring a large pot of water to boil; once it's boiling, add the mung bean spouts, cover, and cook for 2 minutes after the water returns to a boil. Drain them immediately in a colander and rinse with cold water. Shake them dry.

Combine the sprouts, broccoli slaw, and red pepper in a large bowl and toss with the dressing. Refrigerate until ready to serve (the longer, the more flavorful). Garnish with reserved coconut just before serving.

This seems to have been a big hit at the potluck. It and the Thai curry were completely devoured (damn--no leftovers!) My husband said that both dishes received a lot of compliments. Unfortunately, I didn't get to hear them: While running back and forth to the car to bring in all the food, I twisted my ankle badly and spent the whole lunch elevating my foot and icing my ankle. I will be doing much of my cooking sitting down for the next few days! :-)

Since it seems to fit the category well, this recipe is my entry in Sweetnicks' ARF (Antioxidant Rich Food) 5-A-Day Tuesday event. Check out all the other healthy entries!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free ARF/5-A-Day