Asian Inspired Salad with Fresh Herbs and Zesty Lime, Sesame, Ginger Dressing

Asian Salad with Ginger Dressing

by Anna Bonesteel

This fresh zesty salad is packed with flavor and fresh herbs. It is low FODMAP and low carb. Be careful with leafy greens – large amounts of spinach and other dark leafy greens can cause digestive distress. I recommend a gentler green mix with mostly butter or romaine lettuce with only small amounts of spinach or arugula. You can still eat them, just watch your quantities carefully for a happy gut!

Ingredients:

    • Handful of greens: Mostly butter or romaine lettuce, a little arugula, your favorite mix…
    • Torn mint leaves
    • Torn fresh basil leaves
    • Torn cilantro leaves
    • 1-2 tablespoons finely chopped or grated carrots
    • 1/8 bell pepper – thinly sliced
    • 1/2-1 tablespoon roughly chopped peanuts or cashews
    • Protein: Chicken, shrimp, or steak
    • 1/4 cup sesame oil
    • Juice of 1 lime + zest of 1/2 lime
    • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
    • 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
    • 1 teaspoon gluten-free fish sauce
    • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
    • Red pepper flakes
    • a couple drops each of garlic and shallot flavored oils
    • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
    • Roasted sesame seeds (optional)
    • few cracks freshly ground black pepper
    • pinch of salt

Directions:

  1. 1. Chop or loosely shred lettuce/leafy greens. (Be careful not to use to much spinach or other highly acidic leafy green. It can be hard to digest.) Wash and rip or loosely chop fresh herbs and throw on top of greens. Put on plate.
  2. 2. Make salad dressing: mix sesame oil, lime juice, rice vinegar, coconut aminos, fish sauce, maple syrup, flavored oils, ginger, pepper, and salt into a bowl and mix well. (Makes about 3/4 cup dressing)
  3. 3. If cooking proteins, do that now. For shrimp, I used thawed raw shrimp. Make sure to pat dry. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Heat grapeseed oil in skillet until shimmering. Add raw shrimp in single layer being careful not to crowd pan. Let cook for about a minute or two until pink and then flip and let cook for another minute or so until uniformly opaque throughout. Add a pat of butter to the pan, let melt, toss to coat. Immediately put shrimp onto salad or in a bowl so they stop cooking.
  4. 4. Place shrimp on top of greens and fresh herbs. Throw on carrots and bell peppers. Drizzle salad dressing over the top. Top with crushed peanuts and sesame seeds if using. Enjoy!

Recipe tips and FODMAP thoughts:

  1. Be careful where you get your garlic and onion flavored oils. Some brands add garlic powder or do not filter out the garlic carefully. I buy mine from FODY foods, a low FODMAP food company, because I feel that it’s safer and haven’t had any issues with them. You can also make your own.
  2. For some people carrots, particularly raw carrots, can trigger digestive symptoms. I recommend consuming them in small quantities, such as on this salad, or eliminating if not well tolerated.