It’s not slaw. Yeah, it’s sour shredded cabbage with added oil and salt, but it can’t be slaw. Slaw is that nasty unidentifiable white gunk still sitting ominously underneath the plastic wrap at the picnic, untouched, unloved. Slaw is low-grade mayo and school lunches. Even the word sends a shudder down the culinary spine: slaaaaaaaaaaaw.
This? This, friends, is a salad.
I’ve been on a bit of a salad kick lately, I s’pose. How handy that essentially everything can be chopped up and labeled as such! There’s a simple pleasure somewhere in the methodical yet seemingly artistic process of combining fresh veggies, dicing and mincing and grating, watching the colors pile up together in the bowl.
I used to think I loathed salads as a kid, all because I was suspicious of the mysterious “dressings” – what the hell is that “ranch” gloop, and why do I want to eat it on leaves? I count realizing that dressings are just sour + oil among my favorite Adult Discoveries, because they work absolute magic on raw veggies, somehow perfectly underlining their lightness and freshness and crunch.
This iteration of shredded cabbage excites due to a secret weapon named “half a jalapeño.” It’s just barely enough to be detectable – you aren’t going to knock any socks off here – and as such is the driving force behind the why-yes-I-will-have-some-more-thank-you-ness of the mix. The tang of lime and rice vinegar is balanced by sweet carrot and earthy cilantro, while the cabbage just keeps doing its crunchy thing in the background. Simply a straight-A salad – just don’t tell anyone I got it from Martha Stewart. And definitely don’t call it slaw.
Spicy Cilantro, Lime, and Napa Cabbage Salad
adapted from Martha Stewart (I know)
makes: 4 servings
time: 10 minutes
1/2 small head shredded napa cabbage
3/4 cup cilantro, chopped
4 scallions, chopped
1 grated carrot
1/2 fresh jalapeño, minced
juice of 1 lime – if your limes are especially juicy, you may want to go light on this at first, then add more to taste
a splash of rice vinegar
a splash of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sugar
a pinch of salt
1. In a large bowl, toss napa cabbage, cilantro, scallions, carrot, and jalapeño.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, rice vinegar, vegetable oil, sugar, and salt. Toss with salad just before serving.
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awesome salad! thanks for sharing
Great salad. I was looking for a very light dressing to go with shredded cabbage and ran across this. I left out. Cilantro this time only because this is going along with black bean salsa/salad that has lots of that and didn’t want to duplicate the flavors. Both are going along with simple chicken enchiladas.
This salad has the perfect light, fresh taste and texture I was looking for. .