Recipe: Bryant Terry’s Napa Cabbage & Kale Coleslaw with Creamy Miso-Ginger Dressing
This modern take on classic coleslaw has everything you want in a nutrient-rich summer salad — lots of greens. The combination of mildly flavored Napa cabbage, earthy lacinato kale, delicate green peas, and crunchy green beans makes you feel like you have fulfilled your nutritional requirements for the next three days after having a serving or two.
The pièce de résistance of this dish, though, is the tangy, flavor-filled miso, ginger, and silken tofu-based dressing. It goes perfectly with this slaw, but you can enjoy it on almost any green salad, with grilled asparagus, or on top of quinoa or any other summer dish.
Serve this coleslaw as a side or piled high on a barbecue sandwich during your post-4th of July cookouts this summer (see my Open-Faced BBQ Tempeh Sandwich in Vegan Soul Kitchen).
Napa Cabbage and Kale Coleslaw with Creamy Miso-Ginger Dressing
Serves 4 to 6
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 3 tablespoons
silken tofu
- 2 tablespoons
white miso
- 1 tablespoon
freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons
unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon
finely grated, peeled fresh ginger
- 1 clove
garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon
Dijon mustard
Coarse sea salt
- 2 tablespoons
peanut oil
For the slaw:
- 3 cups
very thinly sliced Napa cabbage
Coarse sea salt
- 1/2 pound
Lacinato kale
- 1/2 cup
shelled peas (about 8 ounces peas in pods)
- 8 ounces
green beans, trimmed and thinly sliced (about 1/2 inch)
- 1/2 cup
packed chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons
chopped chives
- 1 tablespoon
finely grated lime zest
Instructions
To make the dressing, put the tofu, miso, lemon juice, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a blender and process until somewhat mixed. With the motor running, slowly pour in the oil and process until creamy. Taste and season with more salt if desired. Set aside.
To make the slaw, put the cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of salt. With clean hands, massage the cabbage until soft and wilted, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a colander and rinse the bowl. Put the colander in the sink, put a plate atop the cabbage, and weight it (a 28-ounce can of tomatoes works well). Let sit for 1 hour.
In the meantime, remove the stems from the kale and cut into thin slices. Set aside. Finely chop the kale, and set aside.
Next, rinse the cabbage under cold water, then squeeze with clean hands to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer back into the bowl and add the reserved kale and stems, shelled peas, and green beans. Pour in enough dressing to lightly coat the vegetables (start with 3 tablespoons). Toss with clean hands, then taste and add more dressing as desired (reserve any extra for another use).
To serve, with clean hands transfer the slaw into a serving bowl, leaving any juices behind. Garnish with the parsley, chives, and lime zest.
Find Bryant’s most recent book:
→ Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean, and Southern Flavors Remixed by Bryant Terry
