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February 22, 2021

• Salads

Asian Cabbage Salad

Name: Asian Cabbage Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: For salad; 1/2 head red cabbage, shredded; 1/2 head green cabbage, shredded; 1 cup shredded or julienned carrots (matchstick size); 1 red pepper, thinly sliced lengthwise into matchsticks; 3 scallions, thinly sliced; 1/3 cup chopped cilantro; 1/4 cup chopped almonds; 1 tablespoon sesame seeds; For dressing; 1 tablespoon natural almond butter; 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger; 1 garlic clove, minced; Juice of 1/2 lime; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 tablespoon soy sauce; 1 teaspoon rice vinegar; 1 teaspoon maple syrup; Pinch of salt; 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Crunchy and nutty, this Asian cabbage salad is a mix of purple and green cabbage, carrots, peppers and cilantro with an irresistible almond ginger vinaigrette.

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Crunchy and nutty, this Asian cabbage salad is a mix of purple and green cabbage, carrots, peppers and cilantro with an irresistible almond ginger vinaigrette.

Even though it’s winter, my salad game is still going strong. Of course, soups and stews loaded with vegetables do end up grabbing some of my attention, especially on subzero days.

But salads are definitely a year-round thing for me. Going for hearty greens is a great way to winterize them.

Kale always ranks high on my list. I am never without a bunch in my fridge, so I can use it in salads or sauté it with pasta. I doubt that there is ever such a thing as eating too much kale, but I do like break from my routine to keep things interesting.

Cabbage, a cousin of kale, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli, is another fantastic option for a winter salad base.

What I love most about cabbage is that it’s very crunchy and fresh. What I love most about cabbage is that it’s very crunchy and fresh. Also, there are so many ways to go with it depending on the flavors and ingredients you have in your fridge and pantry.

How To Prepare Cabbage

You will notice in this Asian cabbage salad recipe, I use both red cabbage and green cabbage—a half head of each. I like the color and flavor of mixing both.

To shred the cabbage, I cut the halves in half, trim the stem at the bottom and then thinly slice them.

You will be amazed by the yield. Cabbage leaves are densely packed together, so you will end up with way more in the bowl than you expect. That makes cabbage a very economical salad leaf.

Combine the salad ingredients including, cabbage, peppers and carrots in a large bowl. Whisk together the almond ginger vinaigrette in a small bowl

Ingredients & Substitutions

This is what you need for the salad:

Cabbage: As a lover of colorful vibrant salads, I use both red and green cabbage. But you can use all of one or the other.
Carrots: To go with the shredded cabbage, I peel and cut the carrots in matchsticks. Of course, you can buy shredded carrots to save time.
Red bell peppers: I also slice a red pepper into long slender matchsticks.
Scallions add light, crisp green onion flavor to the salad.
Cilantro is the best choice for fresh herbs to pair with the rest of the ingredients.
Almonds add nutty crunch. You can use peanuts instead. If you do that swap, I recommend switching from almond butter to peanut butter in the vinaigrette.
Sesame seeds are that last (but very important) addition to the salad.
Ginger almond vinaigrette: Usually, I am an oil and vinegar without much else kind of dressing person, but cabbage leaves can stand up to something more. So I add almond butter, which makes it a little creamier. It also has minced garlic, lime juice, olive oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, maple syrup, and no surprise, fresh ginger. The dressing is citrusy and a touch salty and sweet bringing everything together.

How To Make This Asian Cabbage Salad

Combine the cabbage carrots, peppers, scallions, cilantro, almonds and sesame seeds in a large bowl.
Make the vinaigrette. Whisk together the almond butter, minced ginger and garlic, lime juice, olive oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, maple syrup, salt and pepper.
Drizzle the vinaigrette into the salad mixture and toss everything around.

Shortcut, Anyone?

I like this exact balance of cabbage, carrots and peppers as the recipe is written, but I know not everyone is confident in their knife skills. You can use a pre-shredded bagged coleslaw mix. Then stir in the scallions, cilantro and chopped almonds before drizzling in the dressing.

Serving

You can serve this salad as a side dish (even like a cabbage slaw) or main dish. If you want to make it more filling, add baked tofu or rotisserie chicken.

Pair the salad with honey garlic tofu, soba noodles with mushrooms & bok choy or sesame tofu asparagus.

Leftovers

Since the base of the salad is cabbage, carrots and peppers, they will retain their bite for a few days if you store them in an airtight container in the fridge. If you are going to save some of the salad, only toss what you are planning to eat at a time in the vinaigrette.

Make-Ahead Tip

You can make the dressing a couple days in advance. If is hardens in the chilled temperature of the fridge, let it sit out at room temperature until it liquefies again. You can also run the container or jar it’s in under warm water at the kitchen sink.

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