Red Cabbage, Carrot, Cilantro Slaw (With An Asian Slant)

I had half a head of red cabbage and a ton of fresh cilantro left over after making shrimp tacos last week so I decided to make something with them. My first thought was this divine little slaw I made up last winter but when I went in to grab the veggies, I noticed not one, but two bags of organic carrots cooling their heels in the crisper (no doubt the result of my faulty memory last time I bought groceries.)

So I changed course from a Mexican-inspired to an Asian-inspired slaw, pairing the veggies with sesame oil and rice vinegar instead of lime juice and honey.

Survey says... YUM! Carrots, cabbage and cilantro are a rather magical combo - crunchy, sweet and fresh. And mighty purty to look at, too.

Here's the simple recipe.

Red Cabbage, Carrot, Cilantro Slaw

Serves 4-6 as a side

Ingredients

* 2 cups grated or finely shredded carrot
* 2 cups finely shredded red cabbage (I used my handy-dandy mandolin - makes it a breeze!)

* 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, washed, dried and chopped
* 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar (also known as just rice vinegar - they're the same thing but they're NOT the same thing as rice wine or mirin which is good stuff, but something else, altogether)

* 1/2 tablespoon sugar, maple syrup, or apricot jam, to taste
* 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (you can also use peanut or olive oil)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions

Combine the carrot, cabbage and cilantro in a bowl. Mix the other ingredients together and stir to allow the sugar (if you use sugar) to dissolve. Toss it all together and stir to combine.

You might also like: 

• Red Cabbage, Lime, Honey & Cilantro Slaw
• Salade de Carottes Râpées
• Baja-Style Fish Tacos
• Wilted Russian Kale Salad With Balsamic Vinegar & Orange Zest
• Chopped Summer Salad

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