Market stall to table: Refreshing Vietnamese slaw recipe

The slaw has an incredibly refreshing taste, thanks to the well-known herb leaves, which are also often used in European cuisine. We usually add them to lemonade, but Asians decided to combine them with cabbage, carrots, and onions. Can you guess that it’s mint?

Are you not a master of Asian cuisine? Shredded young cabbage is an excellent pretext to start this adventure. Preparing this side dish is not difficult, as it is the peak season for the necessary vegetables.

Even today, you can buy the main ingredients for this slaw at the market stall. Young vegetables like carrots, onions, and, most importantly, cabbage. Now, it's worth eating as much as possible raw. It contains the most vitamins from the B group, especially C, K, and A, and folic acid. It also has calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. It's low in calories. Cabbage helps regulate the intestines, lowers bad cholesterol, detoxifies and alkalizes the body, and supports the immune system. Have you eaten stewed cabbage with dill a few times this season? It's time for Vietnamese slaw!

You can buy the ingredients for the slaw at the market stall, but to season it, you need to stock up on Asian products. These are fish sauce and rice vinegar. It’s worth having them in the kitchen cupboard because they are helpful for most dishes, not only Vietnamese but also Thai or Chinese. Add lime and chilli pepper to the shopping list, too. Without them, Asians also can’t imagine their dishes. The recipe for the sauce also includes sugar. In Vietnamese cuisine, the flavours should blend gently. This slaw is, therefore, spicy, sweet, and sour at the same time. It goes well with most meats that we prepare for the main course and grilled dishes.

Ingredients:

• Half a head of young cabbage,
• 2 young carrots,
• 1 young onion,
• 1 chili pepper,
• A few sprigs of mint.

For the sauce:

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of oil,
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of rice vinegar,
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of fish sauce,
• Juice from half a lime,
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) of sugar,
• 2 garlic cloves,
• Black pepper to taste.

Preparation:

1. Wash the cabbage, dry it thoroughly, and cut out the core. Finely chop it and transfer it to a large bowl.
2. Peel the carrots and grate them on a large-eyed grater. Slice the young onion into thin feathers. Remove the chilli pepper seeds and chop them as finely as possible. Chop the mint leaves.
3. Add the prepared vegetables and mint to the cabbage and mix them.
4. Start preparing the sauce by pressing the garlic through a press. Add lime juice, rice vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, and oil. Mix the ingredients well and season the sauce with freshly ground pepper.
5. Pour the prepared sauce over the slaw and mix to ensure all ingredients are coated with the sauce.