Asian Slaw
Shredded cabbage, carrot and spring onion with coriander and peanuts, dressed with rice vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil.
Photograph credit: Asian herb slaw, rau ram, shiso, holy basil, peanuts, sesame by T.Tseng · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Short and sharp: shred, dress, toss. The only mistake is dressing it too early, since cabbage is full of water and loses it into the bowl.
Cut the cabbage as finely as you can with a sharp knife, or use the slicing blade of a food processor. Fine shreds absorb the dressing and taste of it, and thick ones stay raw and watery. Dress the slaw 10 minutes before serving. It softens just enough to be pleasant, and keeps its crunch.
The dressing is rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey and ginger. It should taste sharp and salty with a hint of sweetness, and a little oil on the end. Whisk it in a jar and taste a shred of cabbage with it, since the cabbage dilutes the flavour.
Toss everything together, add the peanuts and coriander last, and serve cold. It is a good side for grilled meat, fried chicken or noodles, and makes a decent filling for a wrap. Leftovers soften but are still good the next day.
How to Make Asian Slaw
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Whisk the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey and ginger in a jar.
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Toss the cabbage, carrots and spring onions with the dressing and leave for 10 minutes.
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Add the coriander and peanuts, toss again and serve cold.
Worth Getting Right
- Shred the cabbage finely.
- Dress 10 minutes before serving.
- Add the nuts last.
- Taste and adjust the dressing.
Ingredient Swaps
- Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.
- If you only have ground ginger, a quarter-teaspoon for each tablespoon of fresh is the ratio usually given; it tastes warmer and less bright than the fresh root.
What to Serve With It
Grilled chicken · Fried noodles · Pulled pork · Rice
Storage
Best on the day. Keeps in the fridge for 1 day.
The Numbers per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
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