Meat Free Monday: Asian Coleslaw

We’ve featured a coleslaw here before, Celeste’s Chinese Cabbage Salad.  So here comes number two.  It’s similar, but the addition of peanut butter and ginger in the dressing reminds me very much of the salad dressing at one of our favorite Japanese steakhouse and sushi restaurants. 

I came across this recipe when searching for something to make for a cookout we had with my family this weekend.  My mom marinated some ribs (meat, gasp!) in an Asian-style sauce, so I wanted to make something to go along with the “theme”.  This salad/coleslaw was a hit.  I liked it so much that I’ve made myself another batch of the dressing to have on hand for future salads!  So even though I made it as a side dish this weekend, it can easily be incorporated into a main dish salad.

To save on time, I bought a pre-packaged cole slaw mix, but you can also follow the recipe below to make your own slaw. 

Another suggestion…do not mix the dressing with the slaw until you are ready to serve.  After sitting around for a while, the slaw gets a little less crunchy and a lot more brown!  It tastes much better fresh!

Asian Coleslaw

Dressing:

• 6 Tbs rice wine vinegar
• 3 Tbs vegetable oil
• 5 Tbs creamy peanut butter
• 3 Tbs soy sauce
• 3 Tbs brown sugar
• 2 Tbs minced fresh ginger root
• 1 1/2 Tbs minced garlic

 

Slaw (or use pre-packaged slaw mix):

• 5 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
• 2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
• 2 cups shredded napa cabbage
• 2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, julienned
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, oil, peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic.
• In a large bowl, mix the green cabbage, red cabbage, napa cabbage, red bell peppers, carrots, green onions, and cilantro. Toss with the peanut butter mixture just before serving.