Asian Slaw

I like cabbage - I always have, even as a little girl. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I grew up in Germany and I was always exposed to Sauerkraut from a young age. Or, maybe it was because my mom always had red and white cabbage in her garden and with that, there was never a lack of cabbage dishes especially in the winter months. Whatever the reason though I still love it to this day and I'm glad the rest of my family shares my love.

One of my favorite side dishes for a BBQ meal is Coleslaw. Unfortunately creamy coleslaw isn't always the perfect accompaniment. A couple of weeks ago it was one of those occasions. We had decided on a Korean BBQ for dinner. Deliciously marinated chicken, short ribs and flank steak along with rice which was the obvious choice but I wasn't sure what else to serve. I had made an Asian Cucumber Salad before that was well received but a quick look in the fridge and I saw that I was out of red onions and cucumbers. After further investigation of my vegetable drawer I decided on making an Asian Slaw.

A lot of recipes online for Asian Slaw called for Nappa Cabbage and while there is absolutely nothing wrong with Nappa Cabbage (in fact we really like it) it wasn't what I was going for. After looking at several recipes I took a little bit of this and little bit of that out of all of them and came up with my own version containing a bag of coleslaw mix along with bell peppers, serrano chillies, green onions, cilantro and a fantastic dressing which turned this into a show stopper worthy of any Asian meal.

We really enjoyed this slaw, so if this inspired you as well then give it a try at your next BBQ or Potluck.

Asian Slaw

~serves 6~

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 lime, juiced

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 bag coleslaw mix with carrots

1 red bell pepper, julienne fine

2 serrano chiles, minced fine

3 green onions, cut on the bias, all of white part and half of the green

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

In a small bowl, or food processor combine ginger, vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, honey, oil, and peanut butter.  In a large bowl combine all the other ingredients and the toss with dressing. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.