I Fought the Slaw & the Slaw Won

In my opinion, nothing goes better with fish, ribs, and pulled pork than coleslaw.  That being said, I started shying away from slaw since many recipes are too darned boring.  You can practically get mayonnaise poisoning from many coleslaw recipes.  Not to mention, how much shredded cabbage can one person stand?  Then a thought crossed my mind; I’ll bet there’s more than one way to fix coleslaw.  Below are three different recipes for traditional coleslaw, along with four slaw variations that taste great but use little or no cabbage at all.

Traditional Slaw

The traditional recipe for coleslaw starts with shredded cabbage and carrot.  I usually take half a cabbage and two carrots, which I shred in the food processor.  If you don’t have a food processor or the shredder attachment, you can shred cabbage by hand using a chef’s knife and a cutting board.

Now that that’s done with, let’s talk about coleslaw sauce, because that’s where the rubber meets the road.  Plain Jane coleslaw like your mama used to make is basically nothing more than mayo, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper.

½ cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoons white sugar

1 tablespoon vinegar

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

However, I like to eliminate the sugar and substitute honey, plus a healthy dollop of mustard for a honey mustard variation that my family and friends rave about.

But that’s not the end of the road by any means.  You can make an asian variation by adding a quarter cup of Thai sweet pepper sauce or a Hawaiian version by substituting pineapple juice for the vinegar.  In both these dishes, I usually add a quarter of a shredded purple cabbage to the mix because it just looks more exotic.  

If you really want to try a slaw that’s light years away from the same old, same old, here are four variations on the theme:

Cowboy Coleslaw

• ½ shredded cabbage

• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed and drained

• 1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

• 1 can green chilies

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice

• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix

• 1 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• ¼ cup lime juice

In a large bowl, toss coleslaw mix, black beans, corn, red bell pepper, cilantro, and jalapeño until well combined.  Whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, taco seasoning mix, salt, and cumin until smooth and creamy.  Pour over the veggies and stir until combined.

Zucchini Slaw

• 2 Medium Zucchinis

• 1 1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

• 3 Tbsp Rice Vinegar

• 1 tsp Olive Oil

• 1 tsp Sesame Oil

• 2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds

• 1 tsp Garlic Powder

• 1 tsp Ground Ginger

• 1/2 tsp Salt

• Slice the zucchini into matchsticks using a mandolin slicer or by hand. Sprinkle the cut zucchini with the salt and toss to coat.

• In a separate bowl, mix together the soy sauce, vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil, garlic powder, and ground ginger. 

• Add the dressing and sesame seeds to the bowl with the zucchini. Mix the zucchini until it’s thoroughly coated. Serve immediately, or let it rest in the refrigerator. Top with more sesame seeds as desired. 

Asian Slaw

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

2 Tbsp. honey 

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1/4 tsp. orange zest

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil

½ shredded cabbage

1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves, optional

2 ripe, Fresh Avocados

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper, apple, pineapple or raisins

• In a large bowl make the dressing by whisking together the vinegar, honey, mustard, orange zest and salt until the seasonings are dissolved. Whisk in. sesame oil.

• Add coleslaw mix, onion and cilantro (if desired) to the dressing. Toss well to combine. Refrigerate to let the flavors blend (may be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)

• Just before serving, peel, seed and dice the avocado. Add the avocado and apple (or pineapple) to the coleslaw. Use a slotted spoon to serve.

Serving Suggestions: Stir in coarsely chopped peanuts or cashews for a nutty variation.

Beet Slaw

• 2 medium sized beetroots (uncooked)

• 3 carrots

• 4 spring onions

• 1 tbsp poppy seeds

• 1 red chilli pepper

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tbsp wholegrain or dijon mustard

• 2 tbsp lemon juice (or approx half a lemon)

• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• Salt to season

• Wash and prepare the vegetables. Peel the carrots and beetroots. Warning - you may want to wear gloves to protect your hands from beetroot juice!

• FInely chop and deseed your red chilli pepper and chop the spring onions, save a sprinkle to garnish the dish

• Using either a food processor with the thick shredding setting, or a hand grater, begin grating the carrots and beetroot. Using a food processor keeps things contained as the beetroot can seep out a lot of purple beetroot juice in the process and stain hands/worktops!

• Drain out any beetroot juice and place the shredded carrot and shredded beetroot in a mixing bowl

• Add chopped spring onions and red chilli pepper - begin mixing gently with two wooden spoons

• Begin adding liquid ingredients, including the olive oil, mustard, apple cider vinegar and lemon juice.

• Add salt to taste - then serve!

(Note: Handling beets can be a messy proposition.  The last time I made beet slaw, my kitchen looked like an episode of CSI, replete with what looked like a bloody handprint on the fridge. )

Conclusion

As you can see, with a bit of imagination, coleslaw can be a lot more interesting than most people would believe.  Variations can be paired with many different kinds of food.  So, instead of fighting the slaw, come up with your own winning variations of this traditional dish that won’t put your tastebuds to sleep.