This Asian inspired salad dressing is the perfect balance of sweet and spicy, with just the right amount of heat! It’s easy to make a good salad but a great salad weighs heavily on the dressing! We kept this recipe reasonably simple but you can make it a little heartier by adding some fried tofu, shrimp or BBQ pork. See the full recipe below!

Kombucha isn’t just a tasty beverage; it can be incorporated into many different things like dressings, marinades, sauces and drink recipes. It creates a wonderfully unique flavour and adds all of its excellent health benefits along with it. It has a slightly sweet, tangy flavour and can substitute liquid in many recipes like this one. Check out the Healthy Hooch Website to learn more about all things Kombucha!  

A Few Notes on Ingredient Substitutions:

• Healthy Hooch Pear Ginger Kombucha – For this recipe, we used the pear ginger flavour, but you can play around with this. Try lemon ginger instead for a little extra tartness. The pear ginger flavour is made with local organic pear juice, and the organic ginger is pressed right here on the farm! Check out the Healthy Hooch Kombucha website to find out where you can purchase these flavours.
 
• Natural Peanut Butter – You can find natural organic peanut butter in most grocery stores among the natural foods aisle or try making your own. We chose one made with 100% organic peanuts because peanuts are one of the most pesticide filled foods, as they clean and filter soil. If you’re allergic to peanuts just omit the peanut butter and peanuts, you can substitute with pumpkin, tahini or sunflower seed butters.
 
• Sesame Oil – You can use any oil you like really, but we chose sesame because it has a robust and distinctive flavour. You can find organic sesame oil at most natural food stores. A little goes a long way so you will want to use this sparingly. That’s why we’ve done a mixture of sesame and avocado oil for this recipe.
 
• Avocado Oil – is an alternative to olive oil with a somewhat similar flavour. There is some concern about heating olive oil due to its lower smoking point; it is not recommended for high heat. Avocado oil has a higher smoking point, so it is a better choice for marinated meats going on the BBQ. You can use whichever oil for salad dressings, but if you’re using the leftover for marinade go with the avocado.
 
• Soy Sauce – If you want your dressing to be gluten-free use tamari instead of soya sauce.
 
• Thai Hot Chillies – Be warned these are super spicy and vary in heat! Three of these little guys chopped up with the seeds left in made this dressing about a 3/5 on the spice scale, but start with one and keep adding until you reach your desired heat!

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients for the dressing in a jar and mix together until smooth. Optional: add 3 Thai chillies to the dressing if you would like a spicy version of this dressing. You can also blend the dressing if you would like a smoother finish.
 
2. In a bowl combine all the vegetables for the salad, add 4 tablespoons of the dressing and toss. Dish onto two plates then top with the chopped peanuts for extra crunch and garnish.
 
3. You can serve with tofu, shrimp, or BBQ chicken and the dressing also makes a great marinade.
 
4. Store the leftover salad dressing in the fridge for 3-5 days.