Asian Coleslaw
This colorful Asian Coleslaw is chock full of crunchy vegetables and dressed with a flavorful vinaigrette with honey, soy, and sesame oil.
This Recipe for Asian Salad has more Dutch roots than Asian, but there’s definitely a taste of the Far East in every delightful bite.
Why You’ll Love this Asian Slaw with Ginger Dressing
- It’s perfect for picnics and potlucks as there’s no mayo-based dressing that needs to stay chilled.
- An Asian coleslaw recipe is unusual enough that your contribution to any pitch-in meal will be unique.
- It’s refreshing, light, and easily adaptable to the veggies you have in your fridge. Cabbage is a must, though!
- The vibrant colors make a beautiful presentation. We eat with our eyes first!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is in an Asian Slaw?
Shredded cabbage, other crunchy vegetables, and onions make up the body of this salad. They are tossed in an Asian vinaigrette.
What's in an Asian Salad Dressing?
This varies greatly depending from recipe to recipe, but soy sauce and sesame oil are very common. Other ingredients may include olive or vegetable oil, honey, balsamic vinegar, fresh ginger, garlic, and/or both regular and black sesame seeds.
Is Slaw the same as Coleslaw?
Yes, these two culinary terms are interchangeable.
What Nationality is Coleslaw?
It can be traced to the ancient Romans but the origin of the word coleslaw is from the Netherlands. The Dutch word Koosla means cabbage salad. The first mention of coleslaw in American dates to the 1770s.
Tips for Making Asian Slaw
- I prefer that the cabbage is dressed ahead of time so that the cabbage wilts and softens. Unfortunately, adding the vinaigrette draws out some liquid from the vegetables and dilutes the lovely Asian flavors.
- I minimized this by tossing the salad with just a fraction of the dressing, then draining some of the excess liquid at serving time before mixing with the remaining dressing. This worked like a charm.
- This salad is extremely versatile. If you don’t like snow peas, add some other green veggies like shredded broccoli or brussels sprouts, blanched sugar snap peas or green bell pepper. More spice? Increase the minced jalapeno or add more red pepper flakes. Make it your own!
- Make sure you a variety of colored vegetables for the best presentation.
More Asian Inspired Recipes
Appetizer
Salad
- Asian Coleslaw from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Soups
- Egg Drop Soup from Miss In the Kitchen
- Spicy Shrimp Soup from The Wimpy Vegetarian
Main Course
- My Dad’s Chinese Sticky Honey Spareribs from Jeanette’s Healthy Living
- Easy Glazed Salmon
Bread
- Asian Sweet Bread from Creative Culinary
Veggies/Sides
- Sweet and Spicy Pork Egg Rolls from Pastry Chef Online
- Asian Stir Fried Asparagus
Dessert
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Asian Coleslaw
A delicious Asian slaw with cabbage, peppers, snow peas and a flavorful ginger vinaigrette.
Ingredients
Slaw:
- 4 cups shredded green cabbage
- 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup carrots, sliced into matchstick-sized pieces
- 1 1/2 cups snow peas, blanched and sliced if desired*
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 jalapeno, minced (more or less to taste)
Ginger Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2-3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic, minced or run through a garlic press
- 1 tablespoon finely minced ginger.
- Pinch of red pepper flakes, or more to taste
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Place all vegetables into a large bowl and toss.
- Whisk together the rice wine vinegar and lime juice.
- Add the sesame oil and olive oil slowly while whisking, then mix in the rest of the ingredients.
- Pour over vegetables. Toss to mix, and serve immediately.
Notes
*To blanch the snow peas, place them in boiling water for a minute or two until they turn bright green. Remove and place in a bowl of cold ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and dry before using.
If you add the dressing ahead of time, it will pull water out of the vegetables and dilute the flavors. If you want your cabbage to wilt, toss with just some of the dressing and add the majority just before serving.
Use any of your favorite vegetables, julienned. Pick all the colors of the rainbow for the most beautiful presentation.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 204Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 483mgCarbohydrates: 24gFiber: 4gSugar: 16gProtein: 5g
40 Comments on “Asian Coleslaw”
To tell the truth, I only eat coleslaw when I’m in Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets. Love the refreshing salad! xoxo
Love cabbage that’s wilted in a slaw! This one’s unique in the addition of jalapeno and cashew. The colours are so enticing, too.. 🙂
Julie & Alesah
Gourmet Getaways xx
I love the Asian flavours in this salad. But…have I told you…I’m not allowed to bring cabbage into the house. Drew grew up with a mother who was obsessed with cabbage (and still is) and she served it at almost every meal – shredded with sultanas thrown in as a kind of a coleslaw. Drew detested it and told his mother how awful it was and she said, ‘Oh but it’s very nourishing’. He has said to me, ‘I don’t care how nourishing, just don’t bring cabbage into the house’ xx
I love coleslaw and this one sounds delicious. Love the colors!
crunchy and wilted is the way to go in my opinion. Love this salad. so nice and refreshing and filling with the noodles.
I am a big fan of cabbage. I love the flavors in this Asian coleslaw. It looks really delicious.
My favorite type of salad is cole slaw. I’ve loved it since I was a child and try to create every variation that I can. I haven’t made this one before but you can be sure I will this spring. I’m printing this off to try soon. Thanks for sharing it Liz.
A good, colorful slaw is always a welcome addition at my table. Silly men. 😉 I love the flavors in this dressing, too.
Wow does this salad look perfect for the upcoming barbecue season! Sounds delicious!
Liz, I adore Asian flavors in food, and this slaw has my name on it. Excellent strategy for marinating, draining, and redressing the mix. Pinned!
Such a healthy, delicious and flavorsome slaw… I have to make this!
Absolutely gorgeous! Perfect for a spring time meal and for the progressive eats dinner. I love your mix of olive and sesame oil in the dressing.
First of all this salad is so pleasing in the eye and i bet it is delicious too!
Liz, I love your Asian coleslaw just the way you made it – slightly wilted and filled with colorful veggies. Also love your tip about doing the dressing in 2 steps so it doesn’t get too watery. Tell Bill I’ll eat his share:)
It looks so colourful and crunchy!
Yummeeee. I love Asian cabbage salads and yours looks and sounds wonderful!
I love this twist on coleslaw. I need to get more veggies into my diet nowadays. Of course I would have this with a heap of Chinese beef and broccoli.
Liz – I love this crunchy salad – the colors are brilliant and the dressing sounds so good! Thanks so much for making this for our Progressive Dinner this month!
I really think I’d like this new twist on cole slaw Liz-sounds good:@)
Colorful and beautiful slaw, Liz! Nice tip on dressing it twice, too. Hooray for Progressive Eats!