Lunch for Work: Nigella Lawson's Vietnamese Cole Slaw

Nigella's Red Seasonal Salad (her version of Vietnamese Cole Slaw) is packed up and ready to go with me when I leave for work at 2pm this afternoon.  I have to say the dressing smells so good I almost ate the dish for lunch instead of saving it for dinner. The dressing is so complex to the nose, while still being so light and fragrant that you want to dig in with a spoon.  The one huge thing I did change on this recipe, okay, two things, are that I had no red cabbage so I used green, and my stomach's been bothering me a bit lately so I traded down to a banana pepper instead of a chili. I just didn't think my stomach could handle any real heat.  Yum. Can't wait until dinner time to try this out.

My entry for Weekend Herb Blogging this  week, the salad is a traditional Asian mix of flavors including the herb cilantro, along with rice vinegar, lime, fish sauce, hot peppers, and garlic.  The event, created by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, is being hosted this week by Anna of Anna's Cool Finds.  Check out her blog later to see all of the herbalicious recipes from the week.

Nigella Lawson's Vietnamese Cole Slaw

For dressing, combine:

2 red chillies, finely chopped with or without the seeds

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbsps sugar

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

3 Tbsp or juice of  1 lime

4 Tbsp fish sauce

3 Tbsps vegetable oil

black pepper

Toss dressing with onion and turkey and leave to marinate for 15 minutes:

1 red onion, sliced thinly into rings

4 cups cold shredded turkey or chicken

For the salad:

8 cups red cabbage (approx 1 1/2 lbs), chopped

8 oz. radishes, sliced

5 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Toss dressing/poultry mixture with salad base and serve.

Serves 8

Comments

[Kalyn]

I am definitely trying this! (I'll switch the sugar for Splenda, otherwise it's great for my diet.)

[Anna]

This looks great! And how enticing to package it to go! Thanks for participating in WHB!

[Mimi]

Sounds and looks healthy, and I am looking for more cabbage ideas today! Thanks, Glenna.

BTW, my Secret Ingredient has been revealed!

[sher]

I love this recipe! I bet you liked it. Great idea. Making lunch is always a good idea!

[Helene]

Sounds very tasty. I´ll give it a try. :)

[Freya]

Looks delicious! I love the use of the cilantro (or as we call it, Coriander!).

[Glenna]

Thanks, Guys! It was tasty and I even left some at work for another RT.

[Tom the Man]

For a lighter slaw, omit the chicken or turkey. That way, the slaw can be served as a side dish to another meat or fish main dish. For a more authentic Vietnamese touch, add some ground peanuts.

For a more evenly distributed hot pepper taste, replace chopped chili pepper with ground cayenne pepper (season to taste.)