I’m always looking for simple salads to go alongside our meals. Some of my favorite recipes include green bean salad, kale salad, carrot salad and this light and colorful Asian coleslaw. Almost any meal can benefit from a salad on the side for a boost of nutrition and fresh flavor. This Asian slaw is full of fresh flavors and colors, and can be put together in just minutes. I love this salad. It adds crisp, fresh component to a meal. It goes perfectly with some of my favorite dishes like Thai chicken curry, Instant Pot teriyaki chicken and almond chicken. Just imagine the meals you could make with this slaw!
Asian Slaw Ingredients
When you make Asian slaw you will need green and purple cabbage, carrots, bell peppers, green onions, cilantro, sliced almonds and sesame seeds. For the dressing you will need vegetable oil, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, honey, soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, salt and pepper.
How Do You Make Asian Slaw?
First, prepare your veggies by placing shredded green cabbage, purple cabbage and carrots in a bowl. Add thinly sliced bell peppers, green onions, cilantro and sliced almonds. Make a sesame dressing by whisking together soy sauce, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, honey, rice vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to mix thoroughly. Add a sprinkle of sesame seeds and more fresh herbs, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Coleslaw
You can use a box grater to shred your own carrots, or just buy a bag of pre-shredded carrots at the store. I like to use a mix of both red and yellow bell peppers because it adds a lot of color. Feel free to use just one type of bell pepper if you prefer. The red, orange and yellow bell peppers are the sweet varieties that should be used in this slaw. Hoisin sauce is a sweet and savory condiment that can be found in the international foods aisle of most grocery stores.
Asian Slaw Flavor Variations
This salad is delicious as-is, but you can add different ingredients to the mix to customize it to your tastes.
Protein: Add diced cooked chicken, tofu or shrimp to make it a main course meal. Vegetables: Feel free to add different varieties of veggies such as edamame, sliced bok choy, thinly sliced red onions, spinach, daikon radish, celery or chopped broccoli. Nuts: Swap out the almonds for cashews or peanuts. You can even add a tablespoon of peanut butter to the dressing for more of a Thai-style slaw. Add-Ins: I like to add a little crunch in the form of wonton strips, crushed ramen noodles, crunchy chow mein noodles or crispy rice noodles.
Make Ahead Tips
The great thing about this Asian slaw is that most of the steps can be done in advance.
You can chop and shred the vegetables up to 24 hours before you plan to serve the slaw. Prepare the sesame dressing up to 3 days ahead of time. Chop the herbs up to one hour before serving time. You can store the finished salad in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours before you serve it.
I love to serve this slaw in the warmer weather months with dishes such as grilled chicken breast or pan seared salmon. It’s also great as a side to stir fries and noodle dishes that you can find in my collection of Asian foods. No matter how you decide to serve this slaw, it’s sure to get rave reviews!
Asian Slaw Video
