Chinese Coleslaw

Chinese coleslaw may not be traditional, but our recipe gives a slight nod to Chinese pickled cabbage and other salad-like dishes. The main ingredient is crisp, mild-flavored and slightly sweet napa or Chinese cabbage, which is more tender than typical green cabbage. The large, oblong-shaped heads feature tightly packed, crinkly, ruffled, pale green leaves on thick, wide, white stems. The inner leaves are a pale yellow.

When tossed with shredded carrots, water chestnuts, green onions, and a sweet and vinegary dressing that’s punched up with ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil, Chinese coleslaw is a perfect complement to burgers or barbecue ribs. Along with a swipe of Sriracha mayo, it makes a perfect topper on fried chicken sandwiches.

Ingredients for Chinese Coleslaw

• Cabbage: Look for a heavy, solid head of napa cabbage with unblemished leaves. (Be careful; bok choy is also sometimes referred to as Chinese cabbage.) Shredded or chopped green cabbage also works in a pinch.
• Carrots: Shredded carrots add a pop of color and some sweetness to the coleslaw.
• Green onions: We cut green onions into 1-inch batons for more texture. They have a peppery, oniony flavor and provide color. Smaller, slender green onions are sweeter and more delicate than larger ones.
• Water chestnuts: Canned sliced water chestnuts provide a nice crunchy texture to the filling. Fresh water chestnuts—if you’re lucky enough to find them at your local Asian market—are sweet and nutty and worth the extra work of cleaning them. If you can’t find water chestnuts, jicama is a good substitute. You can also use Asian pears or apples in a pinch.
• Sesame seeds: Toasting brings out the nutty flavor and crunchiness of sesame seeds. If you buy them raw, toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they’re golden and fragrant. Watch them carefully, as they can turn from golden to burnt very quickly. You’ll get a better bang for your buck by buying bags or canisters of sesame seeds at an Asian market. You can even find them pre-toasted. Storing sesame seeds in the freezer will help prevent them from turning rancid.
• Dressing: This sweet and tangy dressing includes regular players like vegetable oil, sugar, salt, pepper and white wine vinegar. Asian flavors come from ground ginger, soy sauce and toasted (or roasted) sesame oil, which brings a rich, nutty fragrance. We like to use reduced-sodium soy sauce to keep the salt content in check.
• Cilantro: Minced cilantro adds a fresh, herbaceous flavor to the dressing. The tender stems are full of flavor—give them a rough chop and add them to the salad for pops of brightness. If you’re not a cilantro fan, feel free to skip it.