Fancy Asian Cold Slaw

Sorry Y’all, but my holiday cooking and entertaining has taken prescient over my writing the past four days, so I’m taking this opportunity to catch up a little.

I don’t necessarily write about everything I cook because some stuff is so elementary, but since I write a cooking blog I do try to outline the trends in my cooking and let people know what I’ve been up to.

I did Beer Butt Chickens last Thursday night for our holiday guests and made red potato salad and cold slaw as side dishes. The cold slaw recipe came out of an old copy of Bon Appetit magazine—the July 1998 print edition. I love the recipe, but I must admit that if you can get three teenaged girls to devour the slaw without objection I must be on to something here.

Here is what I did to make a generous portion of slaw for seven people:

½ head (about 5 cups) of green cabbage
¼ head (about 2-1/2 cups) of red cabbage
1 red bell pepper, cut into matchstick sized strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into matchstick sized strips
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into matchstick sized strips
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
4 green onions, cut into matchstick sized strips (optional)

For the preliminary dressing:

4 tbsp rice vinegar
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1-1/2 tbsp golden brown sugar
1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tbsp minced fresh garlic

For the final dressing

4 tbsp rice vinegar
4 tbsp vegetable oil
5 tbsp smooth peanut butter
2 tbsp soy sauce
1-1/2 tbsp golden brown sugar
1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tbsp minced fresh garlic

Prepare your cabbage with a food processor or by hand. I used the food processor. Take the time to julienne by hand the bell peppers, carrot, and onions because your efforts will make a beautiful presentation. Use the food processor for everything if you must.

Whisk the six ingredients for the preliminary dressing together in a small bowl and let stand at room temperature for a half hour, then toss it with your vegetables.

Whisk the seven ingredients for the final dressing together in your bowl and leave it sitting out at room temperature while your veggies sit in the fridge for an hour or two.

When you fire up your grill, toss the final dressing with the slaw and refrigerate everything until you are ready to eat.

Enjoy Y’all,

The Redneck Gourmet