Spicy Cilantro Salad
Are you a cilantro lover or a cilantro hater? I used to be a hater—a card-carrying member of the “cilantro tastes like soap” club. But as I got older my tastes changed. So I was really excited when, a number of years back, I was served a Spicy Cilantro Salad.
The occasion was a family picnic and my mother-in-law brought a Chinese student she worked with. He was excited to share a dish he loved—a giant bowl of cilantro accompanied by a spicy sauce. I gave it a taste, somewhat out of politeness, and was amazed at how well the hot and earthy flavors complimented each other. When the event ended, there was a lot of dressing left, tucked into my refrigerator. I hoarded it to stretch it out for months! When my supply ran out I asked for the recipe but the student had departed.
For years I searched the internet and came up with nothing. I even sometimes wondered if I imagined the dish. Then when Sriracha became popular I realized that the garlicky spicy hot sauce was very similar to the dressing—a breakthrough! I made my own version of the dish which I am sharing with you today.
Recently I stumbled across a similar salad on the internet—with the garlic and pepper chopped into the salad rather than in the dressing. I felt less crazy immediately and have plans to give this version a try. It was nice to finally learn that there are other spicy cilantro salad lovers in the world!
Are you a cilantro lover or hater? (I’ll bet the haters quit reading after the first paragraph!) As fall brings cooler days, cilantro is coming into its own. If you like cilantro and a good bit of heat, this Spicy Cilantro Salad may be your answer to a harvest windfall.
Spicy Cilantro Salad
Ingredients
- 2 bunches cilantro large bunches
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1-2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce
Instructions
- De-stem cilantro (as much as you choose depending on how you feel about bits of stem), wash and spin dry.
- To make the dressing, combine oil, vinegar and sriracha sauce. Mix with whisk until well combined.
- Place cilantro in serving bowls, then drizzle with dressing according to taste.
I love cilantro, but never thought in making a salad with it…I like the spicy dressing…and you are right, people are either lover or hater of cilantro…
Oh, I cannot wait to try this! I love spicy and I love cilantro, thank you for posting. I am enjoying catching up on your posts, they are always so inspiring to me. 🙂
I love cilantro 🙂
Inger – my first bite of cilantro reminded me of gasoline fumes, but that didn’t stop me! I have loved it since, and the salad looks great. I need to find a substitute for the sriracha as I am allergic to garlic. Maybe sambal oelek would work?
I don’t know what my problem is….but I just don’t like cilantro. Now I use it often enough as an ingredient among many other ingredients (which practically covers the flavor), but know I couldn’t manage it all by itself in a salad. (But I didn’t stop reading! 🙂 )
I am impressed that you stuck with it Barbara! But I am the same with green pepper–I can eat them selectively in things but not alone.
i like cilantro, though i’ve never seen as the main ingredient in a dish! this recipe is worth noting!
I guess it would be pretty unique if it was years before I found something close online 😉
I am a cilantro lover! When I make anything with cilantro, my portion always needs extra extra. It never occurred to me to eat cilantro on its own as a salad. I’ve got to give this a try!!
Extra extra–I like that thought Thao!
I am in the same cilantro camp and will try this salad next weekend! Good find!
Nice to see the other cilantro lovers weighing in Tammy!