Red Cabbage, Cilantro and Walnut Salad

By Martha Rose Shulman

Total Time: 20 minutes
Rating: 4(488)
Notes: Read community notes

This slaw, a mix of very thinly shredded red cabbage, cilantro, julienned radishes and walnuts, is a perfect sweet-nutty-salty-sour mix. Pair it with dumplings, or other dim sum, and it holds its own.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

¼cup fresh lime juice
1tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
1tablespoon agave syrup
1tablespoon fish sauce
Salt to taste (optional; fish sauce is salty)
3tablespoons grapeseed oil
2tablespoons walnut oil
1tablespoon dark sesame oil
8cups finely shredded red cabbage (1 medium cabbage, quartered, cored and finely sliced)
½cup slivered cilantro leaves with top parts of stems (lay bunch down and cut across the bunch)
1cup julienned radishes
1 to 2tablespoons minced fresh ginger, to taste
1cup lightly toasted walnut halves

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
In a small bowl whisk together lime juice, rice vinegar, agave syrup, fish sauce, salt (if using) and oils.
Step 2
In a large bowl, combine red cabbage, cilantro, radishes, ginger and ⅓ cup of the nuts. Toss together, add dressing and toss together again. Refrigerate until ready to serve, and toss again before serving.
Step 3
Mound the slaw in a bowl or on a platter. It looks nice if you press it into a bowl then reverse it onto a platter. Top with remaining toasted nuts just before serving.

Tip

You can substitute pecans for the walnuts.

Ratings

4 out of 5

488 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Katya6 years ago

What I have read (and done b/c I don't have fish sauce on hand most of the time) is that for 1tbsp fish sauce you can substitute 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce (you can get a vegan version), soy sauce, or light soy sauce. OR mix hoisin sauce and light soy sauce together to get a more layered flavor substitute. I hope that is helpful!

Laura6 years ago

Yup, typically honey or even maple syrup would be fine for this small a quantity.

Lee6 years ago

Any substitute for agave? Don;t have any and it calls for just a bit. Honey?

Kathie6 years ago

This is wonderful. I served it with butternut squash lasagna for my vegetarian guests.
I used my processor to shred the cabbage and I bought julienned radishes from Whole Foods salad bar.
I use all of the ingredients in other recipes.

Figaro6 years ago

For everyone who can't seem to locate it, Agave syrup is widely available in most supermarkets. It comes in different sades and intensity levels.Look for it near the maple syrup or in the spice aisle. Dole even makes one. It's a very handy sweetener to have when you want the 'sugar' component of your recipe to dissolve.

ZGBNM4 years ago

Had to sub olive oil for walnut oil, and used carrots in place of radishes: it was one of the best dressings I've made and a very good salad over all. I'll return to this often.

Suzanne Wheat6 years ago

Nice recipe but will require some intelligent substitutions. I don't buy expensive oils and don't have an agave handy in my backyard. I cook for vegetarians & fish sauce is out.
Some ground walnuts with a citrus dressing and some slivered chiles comes to mind.

Amy Rowland6 years ago

Please respond to the fish sauce request! We are vegetarian too and I would like to have a go to for subbing since this ingredient comes up often. I am thinking that there is likely a specific kind of soy sauce, but I don't know enough about them to guess which one. thanks

grace6 years ago

While soy would get you the saltiness of the fish sauce it wouldn't replace the umami. Salted anchovies in any form would get you closef. For veg, fermented tofu (avail at Asian markets) would work well. However, Worcestershire and hoisin are not at all close in taste.

Robin6 years ago

This recipe looks like it would have the correct umami and saltiness to work.

https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/6610-making-a-vegetarian-substi...

Marcelo7 months ago

It’s the walnuts and fish sauce that really transform this salad. Don’t skip them if possible. The addition of a Serrano chili or hot honey (in place of agave) adds a wonderful dimension for those who like a bit of heat.

carlin7 months ago

Delicious. I used maple syrup instead of agave.

Sujata11 months ago

I used this recipe as a “base” and really played around with additions such as apple, carrots, sesame seeds etc. For the dressing, you don’t need the fish sauce at all - I subbed soy as well as a bit of citrus yuzu sauce (Kikkoman brand). I did not use as much oil as the recipe called for or the variety of oils - I only had olive and sesame oil and a combination of the 2 worked fine. The one critical ingredient for the dressing is lime juice as you need that tang/bite.

llcAspen1 year ago

Beautiful slaw. Works fine with green cabbage.

Sarah F1 year ago

Delicious! I subbed honey for agave and used watermelon radishes. Served as a side with NYT cooking recipe sheet pan miso chicken with radishes and lime. so good.

broccoli salad1 year ago

Green apple for color/taste? Other colorful crunchy veggies?

Laura G.2 years ago

This was excellent, and I had on hand all the ingredients except nuts, which I can see would have given a nice crunch, but it was fine without. Oh and didn't have agave syrup so just used sugar. It was perfect with some soy-honey-chili roasted chicken thighs and rice.

akhol2 years ago

This was really delicious, and leftovers kept well in the fridge. Didn't have walnut oil, but didn't miss it; maybe used an extra dash of sesame oil in its place. We'll definitely make this again.

CB2 years ago

This is delicious. I did add a bit of very thinly sliced red onion and some chopped cucumber. Served it with baked salmon and cilantro coconut rice. Great combination!

Lynn2 years ago

This is the best way to eat raw red cabbage. My fall CSA delivery also included the cilanto and radishes so this was a win/win. I added a chopped raw apple and subbed in honey for the agave.

Andrea2 years ago

This is delicious, but I'm not sure you need this much oil. I cut back by 2 T and it was fine.

Merrie2 years ago

Quite possibly THE best side salad I ever made! Yes, there are lots of ingredients in this one. However, it is worth the effort. The flavors perfectly blend together. I used the leftovers in fish tacos the following day.

EEY3 years ago

Added scallion and basil. Delicious! Walnuts are key.

K. Boering3 years ago

A good vegetarian substitute for fish sauce is soy sauce plus some marmite or vegemite. For the one Tbsp of fish sauce, I suggest 2 tsp soy sauce and 1 tsp marmite.

Edward3 years ago

Only substitutions were maple syrup, as I didn't have agave, and added green onions. Delicious alongside shrimp dumplings.

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