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Thursday, October 6, 2011

Asian Cabbage Slaw

Have you ever had one of those cabbage salads with the Asian flavors and either uncooked ramen noodles or some other fried crunchy bits? I have. These salads are pretty popular around these parts, and for very good reason. They're easy to assemble and they taste amazing.

I set out to make a version that, well, is healthier. And while some of you may be shocked by the addition of toasted sesame oil to the dressing, I just don't know of any other way to achieve the sesame flavor. So this is one of the rare instances where I will include oil in something that I prepare. Compare the 2 tablespoons of oil in this recipe that serves 12 to the 1 cup of oil in the dressing of the classic version and I think you'll find that my version wins out, any day.


HGK's Asian Cabbage Slaw
serves a crowd (12)


8 packed cups finely sliced or shredded green cabbage
6 scallions, sliced thinly
4 Tbsp sesame seeds
2 cups matchstick or shredded carrots
1 cup julienned red pepper
1 10.5 ounce can mandarin oranges, drained and liquid reserved for dressing
1 cup toasted sliced or slivered almonds

Place all ingredients, except almonds, into a large bowl. Toss with dressing (recipe below). Let marinate several hours or overnight before serving. Before serving, toss with almonds.

Light Asian Dressing:
4 Tbsp mandarin orange liquid
6 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 Tbsp mirin
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
pepper
1 tsp salt (or not)

Put all ingredients into a bowl and whisk.


Are you familiar with the classic version of this salad? Is it popular where you live? Would you consider taking a healthy version of this or another classic dish to your next pot luck?







17 comments:

lindsey solganik said...

yum!- I love Asian slaw, but the original recipe is so unhealthy. I am totally going to try this one out for Sunday school

Donna said...

Yum - but what's mirin and where do you find it? (Sorry, I'm new at some of these new foords!)

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for this recipe. I love the Asian Cabbage Salad. I'm stumped on what the 4 T. mirin is though. I'm sure it's a typo but just need some clarification.

JL goes Vegan said...

Love it! Crispy salad with toasted and citrus flavors sounds so good to me!

Healthy Girl said...

I'm sorry! I didn't think that mirin was such an obscure ingredient. It's a sweetened Japanese cooking wine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirin

Sold in the Asian section of most supermarkets.

Randy Solganik said...

YOU PUT OIL IN MY SALAD???

(lol)

Jen said...

I used to love the original version, until I realized how much oil, sugar, salt & MSG it had in it, so have been making something similar to this for past few years using rice wine vinegar & citrus juice. This version looks great, too. My local Whole Foods does an Asian Coleslaw using Napa cabbage. Bringing something healthy to a potluck is usually (sadly)the only way I can find anything to eat.

Healthy Girl said...

Yes, darling, even I have my weaknesses.

(lol)

Leslie R. said...

I am eating some simple slaw right now as I read this. This looks delicious- I'd certainly take it to an event!

TejasJJain said...

This looks yummy. This will be dinner tomorrow night....

Healthy Girl said...

I wuv you all! Thanks for the positive feedback.

Donna said...

Found mirin -- guess where!!! Target!!! In the Asian section. I was so surprised but thought I would look while I was getting cat food!! And there is was. So got all the other ingredients and will make this tomorrow with a stir fry recipe that I got using fake chicken (I'm not sure what the correct wording of that should be -- vegan chicken??) Thanks for sharing this!!

Healthy Hailey said...

Thanks for all your amazing recipes! If you have a coffee grinder, you can grind toasted sesame seeds to a paste and put them in the dressing instead of the sesame oil. I have used tahini in place of oil in other recipes. Most tahini recipes are made with oil, but you can make it with just a few drops of liquid (lemon juice or water) instead.

Jen said...

Adding tahini is a great idea. Thanks Hailey & Wendy. Following Julieanna's recommendations, I checked my jar of tahini the other day & 2 TBSP has 30% daily recommended calcium. I wonder how this would taste with "tahini mayonaisse"? I'm thinking tahini-based salad dressings need to be added to my diet...maybe start adding to smoothies.

Ali said...

Never seen cabbage this great, Looks yummy!!! Love the photos :)

Runescape Gold said...

Giave me some,thank you!

Anonymous said...

I wonder how it would work to substitute peanuts for the almonds?