Chinese Cabbage Salad Recipe

This salad course is simple and very easy. I shredded a head of Chinese cabbage and mixed it with pickled onions, Vietnamese mint and pickled garlic. The mint enhances the flavor of the cabbage and gives it a fresh taste.

The best part is that this type of gơi (Vietnamese pickled salad) can be done very quickly and it's very low in calories. I'm attending a yoga class today, and this salad will keep me in a Zen state of mind long after the class is over.

Red Cabbage and Bean Sprout Salad Recipe

I had leftover bean sprouts from a large pot of phở over the weekend, and I decided to make a salad with it. The color of the bean sprouts needed a little oomph, so I added shredded red cabbage. In addition to the red cabbage, I also used diced Fuji apples.

Given the Asian flair of the salad, I made a peanut, lime and condensed milk vinaigrette. This is a very quick and easy first course, which gave me some time to work on a delicious dessert to satisfy my husband's sweet tooth for Valentine’s Day.

Red Cabbage Coleslaw with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

This recipe was inspired by a dish described to me by Chef Doreen T. Ross. We "met" through PhamFatale.com and we've exchanged several emails about dishes. She recently made a plate of very successful fish tacos that used cabbage coleslaw instead of the more traditional choice of lettuce. Doreen made her coleslaw with a buttermilk ranch dressing that sounded delectable. I had to try it myself, so today I tried to recreate the coleslaw that Doreen described to me as a stand alone dish.

I adapted the recipe so the vegetarians in the house could partake, which means there are no eggs. If that's not an issue for you, a standard egg-based ranch dressing would work fine. To make vegetarian ranch dressing, I usually incorporate silken tofu, but as I started working on the dish I realized that I had bought the wrong kind at the store. I had liquid soy lecithin and xanthan gum in my pantry, so I used those instead. If you're familiar with egg-free recipes, xanthan gum and lecithin are an excellent egg substitute.

I didn't think my first iteration of the buttermilk ranch dressing had enough of a kick on its own, so I melted blue cheese and added champagne vinegar to the mix. Because of its rich color, shredded raw red cabbage seemed like the right canvas to showcase the light-colored dressing. I paired the cabbage with cubed Granny Smith apples for a little sweetness and additional color contrast.

The result is an unexpectedly complex and flavorful dish. It was a big success at my house, so I have to say thanks again to Chef Doreen for the tip!