Rainbow Cabbage Salad
When your food looks pretty it naturally tastes better. So by default this salad tastes fabulous. It’s like eating the rainbow. The real star of the dish is the soy-peanut dressing that makes it so mouth watering and addicting. Sure, the actual ingredients taste good, but once you lather them in the dressing, you’ll say, oh, this is REALLY good.
I like the versatility of salads because there are endless combinations. This one is a nice break from traditional lettuce salads. Using cabbage as the base adds a great crunch and is very filling. The cabbage actually takes a back seat to the carrots, cilantro, green onion, lime, jalapeno, and peanuts that really give the salad flavor. Oh, and like I said, the soy-peanut dressing which I’d like to talk about again. Really I just want a bowl of dressing with a side of salad.
If you use both green and purple cabbage (versus one or the other), you’ll have a lot of cabbage to go around. So make up a big batch of the salad mix for the week, and pat yourself on the back for being so on top of things.
Rainbow Cabbage Salad Recipe
Makes 3-4 salads.
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, or 6 chicken tenders (skip to make vegetarian)
- 1 and 1/2 cup purple cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 and 1/2 cup green cabbage, thinly sliced
- 2-3 large carrots, shredded (about 1 cup) (pre-shredded carrots work fine)
- 1 jalapeno, diced
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro , chopped
- 1/4 cup green onions (just the green part)
- 1/2 cup peanuts, chopped (I used roasted and salted.)
Dressing
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp red chili pepper flakes
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp white vinegar
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- Juice of 1 lime (about 1 and 1/2 Tbsp)
- 1 Tbsp oil (I used olive oil but you can swap it for a different kind.)
- 1 tsp fish sauce (this adds good flavor but you can skip it)
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 3 Tbsp water
Directions
Dressing
- Peel and mince 2 (if large) or 3 (if small) garlic cloves.
- In a small bowl use a fork or whisk to combine the garlic, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp white vinegar, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, juice of 1 lime (about 1 and 1/2 Tbsp), 1 Tbsp oil, 1 tsp fish sauce, and 1/4 cup peanut butter.
- Add 3 Tbsp of water and continue to whisk until smooth. You want the dressing to be thick so it stands up to the dense cabbage, but if it seems to thick, add additional water to reach the consistency you want. Let the dressing set while preparing the other ingredients so the flavors combine.
Chicken
- Spray the chicken with cooking spray or drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. In a skillet or grill pan, cook the chicken on both sides until cooked through. (Cooking times will vary depending on the thickness of your chicken. I like to use chicken tenders because they cook fast without getting tough.)
- Remove the chicken from the heat and slice into small, bite sized pieces.
Salad
- Remove the outer layer from both heads of the cabbage. Cut off the stem end and cut each head in half. Cut a triangle in the middle of the cabbage half to remove the inner core. Cut the head again so the cabbage is now in fourths with the inner core removed.
- Using your knife, very thinly shave the edge of the cabbage into thin strips. Cut the strips in half so they are bite-size. Do this until you have about 1 and 1/2 cups of each.
- Peel the carrot and either chop into thin strips or put through a food processor or spiralizer so you end up with small, bite size shredded pieces.
- Chop the green parts of a green onion (about 3 stalks) into roughly 1/4 cup.
- Remove cilantro leaves from their stems and roughly chop the leaves into about 1/4 cup. (I like a lot of cilantro, but you can reduce the amount.)
- Put 1/2 cup of peanuts in a plastic bag and use a meat tenderizer (or any ole jar or can) to crush the peanuts. Or, chop the peanuts with a knife. You don’t want powder so don’t overdo it.
- Cut a jalapeno in half and remove the seeds. Cut into strips and then dice into small pieces.
- In a bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, green onion, cilantro, peanuts, and jalapeno. Stir to combine (sometimes its easiest to just use your hands).
- Add the grilled chicken and toss with the dressing.
You will most likely have cabbage leftover. The cabbage is hearty enough to hold up well for a few days even after being cut. Combine all of the salad ingredients and store the dressing separately so the salad doesn’t get soggy.
Add a cubed mango for an additional sweet, fresh flavor.
Use the Extra Ingredients
I always have leftover cabbage when I make this salad. If you don’t want leftovers buy only a green or purple cabbage instead of both. If you do have leftovers, plan to make a batch of coleslaw, add the cabbage to a stir-fry, or use as a slaw on fish tacos.
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