Thursday, January 27, 2011

I love Cole Slow but not with Mayonnaise



I started to make this Mayonnaiseless cole slow for Thanksgiving dinner.  I actually make whole Thanksgiving dinner for my American husband's family.  I feel weird doing it since I am Japanese but they don't seem to care about that and they seem to enjoy my cooking, so I just carry on.
But honestly, I feel like I needed something not rich in the menu.  I'm pretty certain that many Asians find traditional Thanksgiving dinner too rich.  I do like all the food...  turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing..... but had to have something sour and not cooked to change the pace.  (Japanese call that kind of food "for resting chopsticks".  In this case, more like resting my stomach.)

*Ingredients*
1/2 head cabbage
1/2 medium onion
1/2 large pepper
1 stalk celery
1 large carrot

*Dressing*
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1 table spoon Dijion mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

< 1 > Julienne the vegetables.  Or chop them to skinny pieces.  Use cheese grader for carrots...just slice them uniformly.  Place it in a heat proof bowl.
< 2 > Put all the ingredients for the dressing in a pan and bring it to boil.
< 3 > Pour the boiling dressing over the vegitable and mix.  Refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours.

*Variation* 
I have put in kale, spinach, beet, radish, nappa cabbage, daikon, celery root, apple, asian pears in the past.  (Not at the same time.)  It could be depending on what the main course will be and what you want to use up from your refrigerator.
The dressing could be tweaked around, too, by using apple vinegar, white balsamic, fruit infused vinegar, simple lemon juice, or combination of a couple of them.
The color is another factor that I like making this dish.  Play with red cabbage, red onion, yellow carrot, a pepper in any color.







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