Right around this time of year, the early summer salad boredom sets in. Potato salad? Eh. Another green salad? Maybe later. So without fail in mid to late June, I start experimenting with different salad and dressing combinations to keep it interesting. Right now, this mixture of crisp napa cabbage, carrots and radishes mixed with a velvety peanut dressing is my absolute #1 go-to salad.
This summer side dish is not quite coleslaw, and definitely not green salad. It's beyond definition and quite wonderful for it. If I can make a confession, I actually make the dressing and keep it in the refrigerator to spread on tofu or veggie sandwiches or to dip veggies in. It has a subtle bite from the citrus, a nuttiness from the sesame oil, and a creaminess from the peanut butter. I think you're going to like it.

I've done this salad with added tofu or even soba noodles to make it more of a substantial entree. Feel free to do either, but I generally also double the amount of dressing in that case to ensure it coats every extra addition evenly. And if you can't find Napa cabbage at your grocery store, feel free to use any cabbage on hand. Also, toss in any little crunchy vegetables you may have laying around in the crisper: celery, bell pepper, or cucumber would be great here.
Peanut, Carrot, and Cabbage Slaw
Serves 4For the dressing:
3 tablespoons peanut butter
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
For the salad:
3 cups napa cabbage, shredded (from one head of a cabbage)
4 large carrots, grated
4 green onions, sliced thinly
4 large radishes, sliced thinly
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, to top
1/4 cup chopped peanuts, to top
To make the dressing, combine all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk vigorously to combine.
In a large salad bowl, combine cabbage, carrot, green onions and radishes. Toss with dressing. Top with sesame seeds and peanuts. Serve immediately or chill before serving. This salad is best the day it's prepared although it's just fine the next day if covered and refrigerated.
Related: Kale Slaw with Peanut Dressing
(Image: Megan Gordon)
Kart Serving Tray b...

Comments (7)
Is this processed or "natural" PB? It looks pretty chunky in the picture.
@MELEYNA: personally I'd use unsweetened "natural" PB here, and add sugar or honey to your taste, but then I don't like sweet stuff.
Good but a little mushy-- I'd recommend roughly chopping the cabbage and carrots rather than shredding/grating. I also think the sauce could benefit from some ginger and chili paste. I used almond butter and slivered almonds instead of the peanuts, and added some fresh cilantro. I bumped the quantities of sesame seeds and nuts to 1/4 cup each and felt it could have used even more. Finally, lime juice seemed like a more complimentary flavor than lemon so that's what I used. I think this is a great recipe but it needs a little tweaking.
This was good but I made some adjustments similar to @EngineerGirl. I roughly chopped the cabbage, used a mandolin for the carrots and instead of radishes, I used edamame. I subbed almonds/almond butter for the peanuts/peanut butter, lime juice for the lemon juice, included fresh cilantro and also added sriracha to the dressing.
To make it a meal, I threw in some soba noodles and some shrimp that I sautéed with red chili flakes and finished off with a squirt of lime juice.
Thanks for getting me away from "another green salad". I was getting bored!
I ended up using shredded green cabage and carrots because napa wasn't available. Not sure if that is what threw it off but the ratios for the dressing simply didn't work for me. I used natural chunky peanut butter and added some honey, subbed lime for the lemon juice, all else the same. Ended up having to add extra teaspoon soy sauce and tablespoon sugar to get some balance and for it to not taste like peanut buttered cabage. I hesitated to add cilantro but might try that next time. Also threw in some diced red onion. It ended up pretty good.
This sounds devine - with cilantro and lime! I cant wait to make it. Thanks
We have now made this three times in 2 weeks! Also tweaked the recipe: used tahini instead of PB, left out the radishes and edamame completely, added a mix of cooked and cooled quinoa and bulgur to make this a meal. It's awesome, my husband and I love it. Went straight to my Recipe Box. Thanks for the inspiration!