It’s a Secret Recipe Club kinda Monday! The best kind, in my opinion. 🙂 If you’ve missed past SRC posts, the premise is this: you’re assigned a different member’s blog every month. You visit their blog, choose any recipe you want, then make it and share it on your blog. Everyone else posts about their secret blog the same day. It’s fabulously fun to try out new blogs. If you have a blog, definitely check it out and consider joining! I highly recommend it.
This month my assigned blog was Sustainable Cooking for One, which is the product of Stephanie’s passion for local, sustainable eating. Stephanie has a ton of original and adapted recipes on her site, and has even published a cookbook! How cool.
I was looking for a side dish to make for our 4th of July BBQ, so when I saw Stephanie’s twist on cole slaw, I was so excited. This isn’t just your average cole slaw… it’s Minty Asian Slaw!
Minty Asian Slaw is a refreshing twist on a classic summertime dish. Unlike most cole slaw recipes, Stephanie’s encourages the use of lots of fresh veggies and fruit [not just cabbage!], vinegar, and oil… instead of globby mayo and limp cabbage. What a great idea, me thinks! For the most part, I stuck with the recipe but I did make a few changes. The original recipe called for cabbage, carrots, and cucumber along with the minty vinegar and oil dressing. Since Ben isn’t a huge cucumber fan, I decided to take a cue from Stephanie’s other slaw recipe and use an apple for crunch instead! I also added more mint than the recipe called for… what a great decision! Both of them. 🙂 And let me just say for the record that a bite of minty apple, no matter how weird it may sound, is pretty amazing.
This crisp Minty Asian Slaw is fresh, exotic, and perfect for summer, and that abundance of mint growing in your garden [or is that just me?], so I hope you enjoy as much as we did!
Minty Asian Slaw
adapted from Susatainable Cooking for One mostly here and but also here
Ingredients:
- 1 medium cabbage, sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1 apple, cut into matchsticks [I used Granny Smith]
- 2 stalks celery, finely diced
- ~2-3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped [I didn’t measure]
- lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- up to 1/2 tablespoon sugar, if desired
Directions:
Place cabbage in a large collandar and pour salt over. Use your hands to massage salt into cabbage, then let sit for about 45 minutes [Mark Bittman suggests 1-2 hours but I didn’t have that kind of time, so I helped the process by massaging it]. Then rinse and drain cabbage thoroughly–about six times–to remove the salt. Dry cabbage with kitchen towels or a salad spinner.
Meanwhile, combine carrot, apple, celery, and mint in a large bowl. Toss with lemon juice–about 1 tablespoon. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar and oil. Add cabbage and dressing mixture alternately so everything combines well. Taste and add sugar as desired.
Serve immediately.
Be sure to check out other great SRC recipes posted today!
The Pajama Chef 
That looks really good! I like that the salad has mint in it.
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thanks! i need to start using mint in more savory/veg dishes. 🙂
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What a beautiful slaw! Great choice!
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thanks lesa!
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Slaw is a perfect summer salad :-). Great choice for SRC!
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thanks 🙂
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What a great choice for the SRC. I love the combination of mint, apple and cabbage for light and refreshing slaw. This is definitely on my “to make” list!
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Very nice twist indeed on coleslaw, great job. By the way, I got you, check out what I chose to make on my blog
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thanks! heading over now 🙂
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What a nice refreshing summer side! I love it when an SRC assignment comes in handy for a gathering. 🙂
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me too, veronica!
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What a great summer salad and the combo of apple and sesame oil sounds delish.
If you haven’t already, I’d love for you to check out my SRC entry Double Chocolate Mousse Cake
Lisa~~
Cook Lisa Cook
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Mint in general isn’t my most favorite herb but I do love it in salads like your slaw. Pretty interesting take on it and I bet it tasted amazing when well chilled! 😀
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yes, you’re right. chilling the slaw really makes the mint flavor shine!
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Interesting twist. I love finding go-to recipes through the means of the SRC!!!!
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me too! that’s a great perk, i think 🙂
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Yum–great recipe selection! I normally don’t like slaw, but this looks really awesome!
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it’s really more of a salad, that’s why i think i liked it so much while thinking cole slaw is just so so. 🙂
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Sounds amazing! I need to use mint more often!
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i do too! it’s taking over my life (…orrrrr my balcony) 🙂
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Sarah,
Lovely spin on it! I also don’t usually mix mint with apple, but it is fabulous when you do so. Thanks for reading.
Stephanie
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thanks the great recipe, stephanie!
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This sounds like a perfect summer salad! Yum!
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thank you vicky!
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I love slaws. This would be a welcome change from the regular slaws out there. Great pick for the SRC!
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thanks!
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I am NOT a mayo girl, so any slaw sans mayo is a winner in my book! Such fun ingredients
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thank you erica! 🙂
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Looks very refreshing for a hot July Day!!
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yup! i think mint is so refreshing 🙂
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