Regional Flavours: Dairy-Free Asian Pesto With Fresh Coriander, Lime Zest & Roasted Peanuts


2 Mins Read

While we love a great pesto genovese, the Italian basil in Hong Kong is not always the freshest. Same goes for pine nuts…Great cooks make use of what’s local, in season and available. So we got our creative juices flowing and concocted a pesto with an Asian spin- we love repurposing ingredients from one cuisine to another. This pesto is now a must-have condiment chez nous, hope your household loves it as much as we do! If you omit the fish sauce, this recipe is totally dairy-free– perfect for vegans.

Preparing Asian Pesto

This makes 1.5 cups and will keep for two weeks in the fridge.

Ingredients

  • 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled
  • 1 dried chilli, seeds removed (omit if making this for young kids)
  • ½ cup roasted peanuts
  • 1 cup Thai basil leaves
  • 1 cup coriander leaves
  • 1 tbsp each, orange and lime zest
  • ½ tbsp vegan fish sauce like this one or ½ tbs pink Himalayan salt
  • 1 tbs sesame oil
  • ½ – ¾ cup olive oil
  • 3 tbsp water

Asian Pesto

Directions

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth. That’s it. Couldn’t be easier!

Serve it on rice crackers or as an easy lunch with some rice noodles!

Author

  • Sonalie Figueiras

    2021 Women of Power, 2019 GEN T Honoree, V Label Global Hero, 2 x TEDx Speaker: Serial social entrepreneur & trends forecaster Sonalie Figueiras is a sustainability expert, food futurist and eco-powerhouse who has been inspiring global audiences for over a decade with practical steps on how to fight climate change. Known as the Green Queen of Asia, she is the founder and Editor in Chief of the award-winning Green Queen - the region’s first impact media platform that educates millions of readers on the connection between health, sustainability and the environment and showcases future solutions. She is also the co-founder and CEO of organic sourcing platform Ekowarehouse and climate tech SaaS Source Green, which helps consumer brands quit plastic packaging thanks to proprietary plastic reduction software. In addition, Sonalie is a global keynote speaker and an advisor to multiple mission-driven startups and NGOs, and a venture partner to several VC funds.

    View all posts

You might also like