Asian Cole Slaw

Cole Slaw is one of those side dishes that I generally tend to pass when its offered.  I will maybe try someone's homemade slaw, but it ends up being 1 or 2 bites before "I'm done".  And I never order it when eating out.  Whenever I hear cole slaw, I immediately begin to envision cabbage in a heavily mayonnaise based sauce, which then becomes watered down, with little flavor or crunch to indicate the freshness of the vegetables.  Something very similar to what I think would be served at KFC.

Before I go any further, I want to say that I am sorry if I offend anyones preference in slaw but these are my tastebuds talking and cole slaw just doesn't excite them.  Although I really do want to like cole slaw.  I like all the ingredients involved plus it is a quintiscential side dish for the summer bbq's and cookouts.

Then I came across this Asian slaw and my tastebuds began to tingle.  Could it finally be?  Had I found a cole slaw that would allow me to fully enjoy the complete summer meal.  It was a cole slaw that looked so fresh and crunchy. Plus there was no mayo in the ingredient list.  Oh, I was sold.

So with our first grilled summer meal, this slaw was promptly added to the menu.  Simply put, it is excellent. It has a similar taste to this noodle salad but with fewer ingredients. It is very simple to prepare and adds a new spin to your traditional cole slaw.  

I bet you can guess what I'm bringing to all the summer cookouts.  

Asian Cole Slaw

Printable Recipe

1/2 small green cabbage, shredded

1/2 small red cabbage, shredded

1 cup spinach leaves, thinly sliced

1/2 cup shredded carrots, approximately 4-5 carrots

2 green onions, minced

fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Dressing:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons sesame oil

juice from 1/2 lime

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

1-2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

In a large bowl, toss together all the vegetables, green and red cabbage, spinach, carrots and green onions. 

In a separate bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients.  Mix together well.

Toss the dressing with the vegetables until well coated.  Season with black pepper

adapted from ezrapoundcake.com