Thai Chopped Salad

A delicious Thai Chopped Salad using green and purple cabbage, kale, broccoli, carrots, green onion, cilantro, mandarine oranges, and sliced almonds tossed in a simple Thai almond butter dressing for a delicious plant-based meal!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Calphalon. The opinions and text are all mine. The product(s) used in this recipe was sent to me as a gift, thank you so much!

Hello my friends! Today I have a fun, informational post for you- something that I am excited to share about and then an amazing Thai Chopped Salad to go right along with my post so that you can practice and then enjoy this flavorful Thai-inspired salad!

I am not a formally trained chef, but one thing that I can tell you in my experience that makes the biggest difference when you’re cooking from scratch, and when you include a lot of produce in your diet, is having a great set of knives, particularly in recipes such as this Thai Chopped Salad.

So I’ve teamed up with Calphalon today to not only bring you a delicious salad recipe, but also to teach you a little kitchen skill to help you successfully make this salad on your own. Today we’re going to discuss chopping! Sounds basic, right? Maybe basic, but so handy to learn, and to do it safely using the best Calphalon Precision Cutlery.

Before we get to the skill of chopping, I’d love to take a moment to talk about why I love my 15pc Calphalon Precision Cutlery Set.
– They stay sharp. The knife set includes a wooden block that features SharpIN™ technology with built-in ceramic sharpeners that automatically sharpen straight edge knives every time you remove them from the block. Pretty inventive idea, huh?! Love it.
– The 15 pc set includes a full selection of knives for every culinary purpose, whether you’re chopping, slicing, mincing or dicing- and also contains kitchen shears which I use all the time.
– The knives are fully forged from high-carbon, no-stain German steel and feature a bolster and full tang for better balance and strength, while also having bar-riveted handles that are conveniently labeled on the end for easy identification in the block.

I mean, you want to talk about the Rolls-Royce of kitchen knives- this is it! I thought I was using good kitchen knives and then I started using the Calphalon knives and it was a total game changer. I was actually quite surprised at how much easier it make my meal prep. Dull knives are the worst, haha!

Ok, so we’ve got our fantastic kitchen knives and have established how much it helps when chopping fresh produce in the kitchen, so let’s chat a little bit about the actual act of chopping. I’m sure you’ve heard the terms chopping, dicing, mincing, cutting, slicing, etc. They are in fact all different, but I find myself most often chopping- especially with this Thai Chopped Salad so I’m gonna dive right into that skill for today.

Learning how to grip and use your knife properly can keep you and your fingers safe. With practice, it can also help you chop more quickly and efficiently, just like the pros! You’ll want to grip the handle where your entire hand is around the knife handle itself with the fingers tucked behind the bolster (back of the blade, where the metal meets the handle).

You then want to make sure your cutting board is secure, use the “claw grip” where you tuck the ends of your fingers under so you don’t accidentally chop your fingertip, stabilize your food, and keep those knives sharp so that chopping is a lot smoother and easier.

My go-to knife is usually the 6″ Santoku knife. I find it’s the perfect size to cut most food items and it feels the most comfortable in my hand.

When you chop, it usually means cutting your food item into larger pieces. I like to make sure the pieces aren’t too big, but not small enough to call a dice, but you can chop to your desire- the point here is chopping your food into smaller pieces either for sautéing or in this case, for easier bites. Also make sure to put the cut sides down for easier chopping.

Remember to keep practicing and before you know it, chopping will come natural to you- and you might even find yourself enjoying more plant-based meals 😉

Included in the 15pc Calphalon Precision Cutlery Set is an 8” Chef’s Knife, 8” Bread Knife, 6” Santoku Knife, 6” Utility Knife, 3.5” Paring Knife, 8 Steak Knives, Kitchen Shears, Self-Sharpening Wood Knife Block.

I hope you learned something today, so go ahead and get chopping! I would love to hear how it’s going and how you’re loving your Calphalon Precision Cutlery Set so leave a comment below! If you make this Thai Chopped Salad, leave a rating below and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Facebook!

Also check out this Thai-inspired recipe! 20-MINUTE SRIRACHA PEANUT PAD THAI and my Gluten-Free Pappardelle with Wild Mushroom Ragù for my favorite Calphalon Cookware!