It’s slaw season! We’ve moved
through the delicate cool-weather greens with light dressings and now we’re on
to crunchy vegetables, shredded or chopped, and coated in zesty dressings. This
one and many variations on it, has been one of my favorites for years.
There are lots of ways to do
what is often called an “Oriental” cabbage salad. The one my mom perfected has
chicken, crushed ramen noodles, and a simple dressing. I never could make it as
well as she did, so I stopped trying it and looked for others to make my own.
I used to make the original
version of this salad, which was in Cooking
Light magazine, every summer. I eventually learned what other good things I
could do with the dressing, which was the inspiration for the dressing in this post. I also eventually learned that I could add and subtract from the slaw
mixture, using what I could get at the farmer’s market. In the version I
present to you here, I left out the crushed crunchy noodles and added sugar
snap peas.
This recipe was originally
written for napa cabbage, and that’s what I used this time. I was lucky enough to
score a huge (huge!) leafy head of it at the local farmer’s market. Since it is
so leafy, the salad will get a bit wilty as it becomes leftovers. If you’re
worried about that (I’m really not), you could use crunchier European-style
green cabbage instead.
You could also add in
whatever vegetables you like or want to get out of the refrigerator before shopping
for something new. Bok choi, radishes, green beans, broccoli, anything that you
don’t mind spending some time chopping or shredding into slaw shape would be
great. You could also substitute things like sesame seeds or finely chopped
peanuts or cashews for the almonds and/or sunflower seeds.
Of course, if you really want
those delicious, crunchy ramen noodles in the salad, soaking up that delicious
sweet dressing, there’s plenty of room for them, too.
Napa Cabbage Slaw with Asian Flavors
Based on a recipe in Cooking Light, August
2000
This recipe makes a lot of slaw. You could halve it if
you want less.
1/3 cup rice vinegar
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons Thai sweet
chile sauce
2 tablespoons tamari or soy
sauce
2 tablespoons canola or other
neutral oil
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup slivered almonds
8 cups thinly sliced napa
cabbage
2 large carrots, shredded
2 cups diagonally sliced
sugar snap peas
1 cup thinly slice scallions
1. To make the dressing:
combine the vinegar, sugar, Thai sweet chile sauce, tamari, canola oil, and
sesame oil in a small saucepan. Whisk together. Bring to a boil. Reduce the
heat and boil gently for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat
and cool completely.
2. Combine the sunflower
seeds and almonds in a small skillet. Heat over low heat, stirring
occasionally, until the nuts and seeds are lightly browned, being careful not
to burn them. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. Combine the remaining
ingredients in a large bowl. Pour the cooled dressing over the mixture. Toss to
coat evenly. Sprinkle the toasted sunflower seeds and almonds over the top. If
the salad stands a long time before serving, stir to redistribute the dressing
that has pooled on the bottom of the bowl.
Makes 10-12 servings.
