I bought a January King Cabbage from a local farm shop, and it’s really a king: fresh, crunchy, and sweet! It looks like this, with aurora-purple leaves wrapped it tight. What’s better than making it into a slaw?
What is a Slaw?
I’m sure you’ve heard of coleslaw (or Cole Slaw), and an Asian Slaw is a variation of it. Slaw, derived from a Dutch word, koolsla, meaning cabbage salad. Depends on which dressing you use; a slaw recipe varies form place to place worldwide, but basically it’s a raw cabbage salad.
Here we make a slaw with an Asian touch: soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and lime. Its brightness, crunchiness, and freshness complement well with roast meat.
I learned this slaw recipe from Samin Nosrat’s most popular cookbook: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.
Asian Slaw Recipe
If you can finely shred a cabbage, you’re very close to a great slaw! Just plan a little ahead to sweat the cabbage and mellow down the onion, then mix the sauce and off you go!
Ingredients
Serves 2-3 as a side dish
- 150 g cabbage (approx. 6-7 medium cabbage leaves)
- pinch of salt
- ¼ small red onion
- ½ lime juice (approx. 20 g)
- 1 salad onion (spring onion)
- 2 tbsp roasted peanuts
For the Dressing
- ½ thumb-sized ginger
- 1 small clove garlic
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 ½ tsp sesame oil
How to Make
- Cut cabbage: Finely shred the cabbage, and add a pinch of salt to it. Toss and set aside for 20 mins.
- Macerate onion: Finely slice the onion, and freshly squeeze in lime juice, let sit for 20 mins; the acidity will tune down the onion’s spiciness.
- Prepare dressing: Meanwhile, grate the ginger and garlic in a small bowl; add in soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil, and whisk well.
- Back to cabbage and onion: Remove excessive water from cabbage if present. For the onion, leave the lime juice behind, and transfer to the cabbage. Finely cut the salad onion into rings, and add into the cabbage as well.
- Assembly: Combine the lime juice with the dressing, mix well. Pour it into the cabbage; throw in the peanuts; and toss everything thoroughly. Have a taste and adjust if necessary. Serve in room temperature or cold.
