Asian Slaw with a Sweet and Tangy Dressing

Name: Asian Slaw with a Sweet and Tangy Dressing
Prep time: 45 min
Ingredients: 8 cups (485 g ) thinly sliced green cabbage ((about half a cabbage)); ½ cup celery, cut thinly on a bias; 1 cup thinly sliced carrots, rough chop ((1 carrot)); ⅛ cup sliced green onions, reserve half ((green parts only)); ½ tsp white toasted sesame seeds; ½ tsp black toasted sesame seeds; ¼ cup sugar + ¼ cup water to dissolve; ¼ cup soy sauce; ⅛ cup aji-mirin or mirin; ⅛ cup sesame oil; ⅛ cup rice wine vinegar; ⅛ cup lime juice plus zests ((1 lime))

Learn to make an Asian slaw that has an incredible sweet and tangy dressing.

The soy sauce-based dressing has sweetness from aji-mirin, nuttiness from the sesame oil, and sour notes from the rice wine vinegar and lime juice. It is salty, sweet, and tangy!

Summertime means lots of salads in my household (check out my recipe for creamy dill potato salad, and ginger soy cucumber salad) and slaws (aka coleslaws) are a must. For family gatherings over the years, I have made countless versions and the Asian slaw is always a hit!

Tell me more about the Asian slaw!

The cabbage, carrots and celery are crunchy and are great vessels for the Asian dressing. For those who are not celery fans, cucumbers is a good substitute. The appetizing dressing is a perfect match with the crunchy vegetables. With BBQ season in full swing, the Asian slaw will be a great match with grilled meats and vegetables. Who can resist a deliciously crunchy and light salad with so much flavour? The black and white roasted sesame seeds provide extra nuttiness to every bite and brings out the sesame flavour in the dressing, and makes the salad look extra pretty for plating!

Asian Slaw with a Sweet and Tangy Dressing up close

Let’s talk ingredients in this easy Asian slaw

What is aji-mirin?

Mirin is a sweet cooking rice seasoning seen in Japanese cuisine that has a low alcohol volume. It is common in Japanese cuisine and provides a nice sweetness to the dressing, than only adding sugar.

Aji-mirin is a less expensive substitute that is still mirin but with more sweeteners. Use mirin or aji-mirin for the recipe.

What is rice wine vinegar?

Rice vinegar is a vinegar made from fermented rice and is aromatic and slightly sweet. Apple-cider vinegar is also a good substitute in the salad if you cannot find rice wine vinegar.

Both mirin and rice wine vinegar can be found at large grocery chains in Canada in the International section, as well as Japanese or Chinese grocery supermarkets.

What makes the salad dressing tangy?

The acidity using both the aromatic rice wine vinegar plus lime juice gives the dressing the tangy edge.

I used green cabbage for the salad but savoy, red, and nappa cabbage are also great options.

Helpful tools for cutting the cabbage and carrots

For the cabbage, I used a knife to thinly cut the cabbage. In the recipe, I didn’t specify how big the pieces need to be, because the exact length and thinness is subjective. I would recommend to cut it no thicker than 1 cm. There are several tools out there that are helpful for slicing cabbage including shredder slicers, mandolins, grater, and food processors.

To get thinly sliced carrots, it is best to use a peeler or a mandolin.

Recipe