Use a vegetable peeler to peel the zucchini and carrots into ribbons and place them in a big bowl—it’s okay to leave a little bit of the middle behind for the sake of your fingers. Shred the cabbage finely, slice the red pepper and scallions as finely as you can, and add to the bowl.

Now use a knife to peel the grapefruit and lime. Then with the knife, roughly cut out all the segments from both, leaving the pith and membrane behind. Put the segments into a bowl, then mash them up so you are left with little juicy jewels of lime and grapefruit. Add these to the big bowl too.

Roughly chop the basil and cilantro, then add all the basil, half the cilantro,and all the bean sprouts to the bowl. This will all keep well in the fridge until you are ready to eat. 

When ready to serve, make your dressing by putting all the ingredients into a blender with 2 ⁄ 3 cup/150 ml of water and blending until you have a dressing just thick enough to coat and hold on to the vegetables. Thin with a little more water if you need to. If you don’t have a blender, mash the dates in a bowl until you have a paste, then finely chop the nuts, ginger, garlic, and chile and stir in the lime juice and soy sauce. Pour the dressing over the salad, mix well,and top with the crushed cashews and the rest of the cilantro.