Sunday, June 24, 2012

Asian Sweet & Spicy Coleslaw

Something so satisfying and crunchy about coleslaw.
I love the stuff, but I do NOT like the typical mayonnaise versions that are served everywhere with your fish n' chips.
It's just YUCK to me.
I do a bunch of different versions of fresh, tangy coleslaw recipes, my favorite is Spicy Mexican Coleslaw
But, whoever heard of Mexican coleslaw with Asian food?
This one will be your go-to version for any Asian entree. It's sweet, crunchy, tangy and spicy altogether. I served this with a barbecue Thai Sweet Chili Sauce Salmon filet.... I'll try to get that recipe posted later this week.


Serves about 6 as a side salad
Ingredients

6 cups shredded cabbage, 3 cups each green and red cabbage
             or a 12oz. pkg shredded cabbage mix
]2 small Persian cucumbers
4-5 green onions
1-2 jalapenos peppers
3-4 carrots, sliced
1 red bell pepper
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp garlic chili sauce, or Sriracha (optional)
Salt and Pepper... but you might not need any! Taste it first!

I recently bought a cool ceramic slicing tool while on a Japanese business trip.  I love how easy it is to slice perfect slices of so many veggies.  If you have a mandolin slicer, that would be perfect too.  Otherwise, do your best to slice the carrots and cucumbers as thinly as possible.


Combine all the sliced veggies in a bowl.  Add the dressing ingredients and toss to coat thoroughly.  Let it sit about 10-15 minutes before you serve it to meld the flavors and soften the cabbage.

Though this salad is good to eat as leftovers, it is a perfect salad to make ahead. I prep the veggies ahead of time and then add the dressing right before you serve it. 



2 comments:

  1. Piper, I'm not familiar with the Sweet Chili Sauce, and I have everything I need to make this except that. Is there something I could substitute?

    Georgia

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  2. Sweet Chili Sauce is condiment (mostly...) used for spring rolls and other items to add a sweet and tangy addition. Even though "Chili" is in its name, it's not usually very spicy. It's somewhat like ketchup, but not tomato based. I would use a little more rice wine vinegar and maybe a bit of sugar and chili flakes. Watch for it in Asian markets, it's perfect on barbecue salmon, which I will post later this week.

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