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.
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.
This is what you need for the salad:
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.
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.
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.
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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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.
You can use a pre-shredded bagged coleslaw mix for a shortcut for the cabbage, carrots and peppers.
Keywords: cabbage salad, asian cabbage salad, cabbage salad recipes
Great recipe!
★★★★★
As not to have to go to the corner shop and to just use my ‘last ingredients’ :), I used only pointed cabbage and green bell pepper; but with the coriander and the dressing it was divine. Oh, I did not put in almond butter (didn’t have), but with heaps of chopped skinned almonds it got both the crunch and some creaminess anyway. I put a little more ginger, as I loooove ginger; the ratio of the dressing is so good!
I love all your improvising!!!
This looks so good!
★★★★★