I love spicy peanut sauce and when I eat Vietnamese or Thai food, I smother my food with it. But, of course, everything that taste too good to be true has to be bad for you and peanuts sauce is on the list because peanuts are not as healthy as you think.
Generally speaking, raw and sprouted nuts are good for you, but peanuts, which are actually a legume (part of the bean family), are not. Peanuts have a soft outer shell and grow underground which makes them susceptible to toxic molds, like Aflatoxin, which is known to be a carcinogen aka cancer-causing compound. Aflatoxin is associated with liver cancer, as well as impairing the growth and development in kids.
FYI: If you eat or give your kids PB&Js for lunch, it maybe time to switch to the AB&B: Almond butter and banana sandwich.
Peanuts also cause inflammation and increased cardiovascular disease because of the high Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio. Omega-6 is ONLY beneficial for your body when the ratio of Omega-6 and Omega-3 is in a 3 to 1 ratio. In the case of peanuts, the ratio is 3 to 6. You do the math. Not good.
Peanuts are also one of the most highly sprayed crops and even if you buy them organic, this will not fix the other issues, like the toxins and the unbalanced Omega ratio.
Now that peanuts are not longer part of the Haas Holistic Plan, I had to come up with a delicious alternative for everyone, that is not only PEANUT FREE, but also GLUTEN and SOY FREE!
In my dipping sauce that goes with my delicious Vietnamese Fresh Rolls, recipe below, I use almond butter instead of peanut butter, coconut liquid aminos instead of soy sauce and fresh tangerine or orange juice in place of the sugar that the traditional recipe uses. I even found an ORGANIC Sriracha Sauce. for youby Sky Valley.
I have tested this recipe out on many people and even my toughest critics, THE HAAS FAMILY, loves this sauce.
Vietnamese Fresh Rolls with Spicy Almond Butter Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:
3 Carrots, shredded with a peeler
4 Tablespoons Cilantro
4 Tablespoons Mint
4 Tablespoons Basil
2 Young Thai Coconuts
1 Mango, sliced thin
¼ Cup Coconut Liquid Aminos
1 Cucumber, shredded with a peeler
1-2 Avocados cut into 20 slices
10 Rice Wrappers
10 Large shrimp
10 Romaine leaves, cut in half
Spicy Almond Butter Sauce:
1 Cup Almond Butter
½ Lemon, Juiced
1 Tangerine, juiced
2 Tablespoons Ginger, Minced
3 Tablespoons Coconut Liquid Aminos
Organic Ville Sriracha, to taste
3 Tablespoons Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
Water to thin
Directions:
Shred carrots with a peeler, chop all herbs and place in a bowl with coconut liquid aminos.
Cut a large hole in the coconuts to remove water. Place in a glass to drink later. Remove the meat from the coconuts with a spoon and slice it. Slice mango. Add coconut and mango slices to the carrot-herb mixture. Let marinade.
Shred the cucumber. You can also slice it thinly. Slice avocados and butterfly the shrimp.
Cut Romaine leaves in half so that they fit in the rice wrappers.
Fill a large bowl with warm water. Place a damp kitchen towel on a cutting board. This is your work/wrapping surface.
Briefly dip one wrapper at a time in the water until it beings to soften. Remove and lay flat on damp kitchen towel. Place 1-2 romaine leaves, carrot-coconut-mango-herb mixture, cucumber, avocado and shrimp in the wrapper, leaving 2 inches on each side. Fold the wrapper inward on both sides and then tightly roll it like a burrito.
To make the almond butter sauce, place everything in a blender, except sriracha and water. Mix until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time to sauce until desired consistency is achieved. Then add sriracha until spiciness is achieved. If you do not like spicy food, then skip the sriracha all together!
Place almond butter sauce in a dipping bowl and enjoy with the fresh rolls!
HH TIP:
Feel free to substitute the shrimp with chicken, mushrooms or any protein that you like. Last Thanksgiving, I used my leftover Turkey in place of the chicken and it was a GREAT, HEALTHY alternative to the “Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich). You can make the rolls vegan and just fill the wrappers with veggies!
You can also skip the fresh coconut and add shredded coconut to the marinated carrot-herb mixture. The shredded coconut will rehydrate from the liquid.