Just search the NYT COOKING section and you’ll find nearly 1000 results for “Asian Cabage Slaw” [sic]. Even with my typo that’s a lot of slaw to sort through. When spelled correctly, you will land on Florence Fabricant’s recipe, and you can stop your search there. It is highlighted EASY because it really is no-fuss, provided you don’t mind chopping. Florence offers a terrific baseline to follow. I’m never one to follow a recipe and her recipe lets you play around. I added way too many dried pepper flakes and needed to add some julienne carrots and peanuts to calm things down. My rice vinegar was a bit tart, so I also needed to let the recipe sit for a while to allow the cabbage and carrots to soften and take the “sharp” out of it. My BFF Richard owns a restaurant in Boston, and he’s obsessed with recipes. I drive him nuts in the kitchen because I like to play around and not take a recipe too seriously. For me, the chop-chop is play time and as effective as Kundalini breathwork. Richard’s approach is different - not only does he follow recipes, but he also has an encyclopedic memory of recipes going back to reading them as a kid growing up on the Upper East Side in the 70’s. Maybe that’s because his father was a pharmacist – who knows, but safe to say he likes the alchemy and the chemistry that go into making a good dish. He researches recipes and lands upon the best three and then amalgamates them as his own. That’s great and would that I could spend that much time researching slaw. To save you the time, here are his top three choices for a delicious slaw. Enjoy them! TOP TIPS: The most important thing for any slaw is always, always use the freshest ingredients. Don’t even think about buying a bag of pre-chopped cabbage. Pair your vibrant slaw with grilled salmon, chicken, beef, or pork. Choose a pale, dry rose to complement the fresh flavors on a hot sunny day.
Asian Cabbage Slaw by Florence Fabricant