Super Simple Asian Summer Slaw

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cost: 7 bucks

Slaw

1/2 head of a medium sized cabbage

1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

2 green onions, sliced on a bias

1 carrot, peeled and grated

handful of cilantro, chopped

1/4 c chopped, crushed peanuts

Dressing

1/4 c rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp toasted sesame seed oil

1/2 tsp olive oil

1 tbs sugar

juice of half a lime

dash of red chili flakes

garlic clove, peeled and grated

pinch of salt, dash of pepper

Believe you me, I'm familiar with Asian summers.  Mostly, however, this meant Slip and Slides in the backyard and something my sister and I invented called "Fruit Ball" where we would take turns tossing perfectly good fruit at one another and hitting them with a softball bat. 

Fast forward about 20 years and summers now are a bit different.  In planning a picnic for an outdoor concert, I wondered what would be a nice side dish.  I'm a big fan of mayo-based salads (or mayo-based anything for that matter) but mayo tends to turn shiny and unappetizing in the 100-degree heat, so in this case something tart and sweet and decidedly non-congealed is in order.

1. Cut the cabbage in half.  Cut a V-shaped notch in the bottom to remove the woody stem.

2. Grate 2/3 of the cabbage.  If you grate the whole thing, it'll have a very fine texture which is okay, but if you give 1/3 of the cabbage a nice, chunky chop, it'll give the salad a little heft and also vary the texture so you're not chewing all soft bits.  Put the cabbage in a bowl (obvi).  Notice the towel under the cutting board to prevent slippage

Picture 1 -- chopped.  Picture 2 -- grated.

3. Now slice up the next 5 ingredients in the slaw list.  You can arrange them into needlessly neat piles like I did or just dump them in the bowl.

It's really hard to measure cilantro.  I just grab a sizeable bunch with my hands. Ignore the wallet in the corner.

4. Next, mix all the ingredients in the dressing list.  I like to have a nice garlicky bite but I don't like chewable chunks of raw garlic so I grate a whole clove right into the dressing.  Give it a nice, thorough whipping.

5. Toss the dressing with the slaw and let it sit in the fridge.  The longer it sits the tastier it gets so feel free and let it hang out while Idina Menzel gets the Ravinia stage warmed up.  Garnish with the peanuts.

It also tastes super great on fajitas -- no need to bring all those toppings (the lettuce, the onion, the blah blah blah), just pack some slaw and pile it high.