fusion salad with sesame ginger dressing

Fusion Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing – Tangy and sweet. Fresh and crunchy. Yum!

I would like to say that I am not a coleslaw person. And that’s why I’m calling this a salad instead of a coleslaw.

I looooooove this salad. If you like Asian foods and/or are trying to eat healthier, I’d like to recommend this to you. You’ll love it.

I’ve had my eye on making an Asian shredded salad since I saw this one on The Kitchn weeks ago. My mind keeps floating back to it, and usually, this is a sign that something should be done about the craving. Stat.

I knew I wanted more color, a few more vegetables, and a sesame-ginger dressing, so I decided to come up with my own version. I’ll admit, I was a little nervous about doing this for some reason. I’m not really much for red cabbage usually–I guess it’s the little dried out, rock-hard shreds that come in salad mixes, but I just usually stay away. I decided to be brave and give it a go anyway, and I’m so glad I did! Paired with the sesame-ginger dressing, it stayed crisp without being hard, and even adopted a slight sweetness. It was delicious.

This salad is chock-full of veggies and good-for-you ingredients: green and red cabbage, carrots, green onions, cilantro, and ginger all lend great flavors, and topped with a few peanuts, it had a great crunch and a fabulous texture.

We ate this salad for dinner as a main course, but it would certainly work well as a side or as a big group salad for a potluck or get-together. If you’d like, you could even add in grilled chicken to make it heartier. Not sure what to do with the leftover cabbage? We used the rest of the Napa cabbage in potstickers, and I’m going to be trying a German recipe for the rest of the red. I’ll keep you posted if it goes well 🙂

A few notes on the recipe: the dressing will keep in the refrigerator about a week and can be made up to 2 days ahead of time. The ginger flavor will become more pronounced as it sits together, and it will be delicious. Also, if you have a food processor with a shredder, this is a great time to break it out! You’ll have all the cabbage shredded in less than 2 minutes. If not, no worries, the prep work will just take a bit longer.

Fusion Salad with Sesame-Ginger Dressing

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5 from 2 reviews

• Yield: Serves 4 as a main dish or 8+ as a side. 1x

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Ingredients

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For the salad:

• 1/2 small head green or Napa cabbage, shredded
• 1/2 small head red cabbage, shredded
• 2 large carrots, peeled and grated
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1/3–1/2c cilantro, minced (to your taste)
• honey-roasted peanuts (can use dry-roasted peanuts) to taste

For sesame-ginger dressing:

• 4 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil (it’s not too strong in this. Promise.)
• 5 tsp soy sauce or gluten free tamari (I like San-J brand)
• 4 tsp sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
• 2 tsp sesame seeds (optional)
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp Thai sweet chile sauce (optional)

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Instructions

1. In a large bowl, toss green and red cabbage, carrots, green onion, and cilantro. Set aside.
2. In a jar or lidded airtight container, combine dressing ingredients and shake to combine well.
3. Up to an hour before serving, toss just enough dressing with the salad mixture to coat. You’ll likely have leftover dressing. Sprinkle with peanuts just before serving.