Light and fresh Asian cabbage salad tossed together Chinese cabbage, aromatic herbs, crunchy peanuts and a spicy tamarind nam jim dressing. This super easy Asian slaw is perfect for barbecues and potlucks all year round.
Peel off 7-8 Chinese cabbage leaves and give a good wash. Thinly slice the Chinese cabbage leaves to yield about 3 cups.
Peel the cucumber and trim the ends. Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and then again, so you have 4 long quarters. Trim seeds off and then cut the cucumber diagonally about 1-1.5cm apart.
Cut carrots into thin matchsticks or shred using a julienne peeler.
Wash scallion (spring onion), remove roots and then chop the spring onion into 5cm lengths. Then slice into long thin strips.
Cut long red chillies in half and deseed. Then slice into thin strips.
Wash cilantro (coriander) and mint leaves well and roughly chop. Save the cilantro (coriander) stems for tamarind nam jim dressing.
Salad Dressing
Finely chop cilantro (coriander) stems.
Take a few strips of sliced red chilli and finely chop.
In a small bowl, mix warm water and brown sugar together until dissolved.
Add fish sauce, lemon juice and tamarind puree into the bowl and stir until combined.
Add chopped cilantro (coriander) stems and chilli. Mix well.
Assembly
In a large mixing bowl, place shredded cabbage, carrots, cucumber, half the toasted peanuts, cilantro (coriander) and mint leaves.
Add tamarind nam jim dressing and toss well together.
Tumble dressed Chinese cabbage salad onto a large serving platter.
Scatter sliced scallion (spring onion), red chillies and remaining toasted peanuts on the top.
Serve.
Notes
Replace the fish sauce with vegan fish sauce or light soy sauce if you would like a vegan version. Add ½ teaspoon of grated ginger if you use light soy sauce.
Replace the toasted chilli peanuts with toasted pepitas for a nut free version.
You can replace Chinese Cabbage with white or red cabbage.
Tamarind puree can be found in most large supermarkets in the Asian section or at Asian grocery stores. If you can’t find it, can omit it in the dressing. Increase the lemon juice to balance the flavours.
If you prefer more heat, use bird’s eye chillies in the tamarind nam jim dressing.