Asian Slaw with Grapefruit
Asian Slaw with Grapefruit brightens your day by adding refreshing citrus fruits into an easy to prepare crunchy slaw. The bright dressing is Asian inspired with toasted sesame oil and vibrant ginger.
Great for using up odds and ends from your veggie drawer. Crispy ready fried onions provide a great contrast for topping, adding a surprising umami punch to every bite, doubling up on the toasty notes from sesame.
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Why You Will Love This
Wake Up Your Senses
With the seemingly endless grey winter days of Ireland, one feeling windier and wetter than the last, I find myself craving bright food that wakes up all my senses. I want resistance for my teeth, something to make sound while chewing, shaking my brain awake with its crunch. Slaw is just the thing here. Not to forget available all winter, even in Ireland.
And I want brightness. A taste of summery freshness, here provided by fresh herbs and pink grapefruit, which always reminds me of a summer sunrise with all the hues of pink and orange. My salad has to have warming bits too, I mean, it’s cold after all, so ginger and chili go into the dressing. Plus some toasty notes for cosiness provided by sesame and crispy onions.
Super Quick to Prepare
Slaw in general is super quick to prepare, at least if you have a food processor * or mandolin, which is no less important while trying to fight the urge to just hibernate. Or is that just me? I constantly fight the need to curl up in bed and growl at anyone trying to approach.
Good for You
Not to forget it’s healthy. Covering at least 3 of your 5-a-day, this salad is packed with fibre while light enough to help you get rid of any remaining winter padding. (“Hey! Don’t get rid of this, we’ll need it while sleeping!” Grumbles my inner bear).
Great for Using up Veggies
That slightly crinkled looking red pepper? Shred it in. Half a zucchini leftover? That too. Those celery stalks you bought to make soup, but never got to? They’ll be lovely in slaw! Radishes? Perfect!
Get creative and include your leftovers. And what can’t be shredded might make a great fried topping. Mushrooms, fried until crispy are just as good as the onions for example.
What to eat this with
I had planned to eat this as side for my Salmon Sushi Tacos with Pickled Veggies as you can see in the background of the title image. But they turned out to be so filling on their own, I instead munched this for lunch with some crunchy air fryer * tofu on the side, like the one from my Vegetarian Caesar Salad.
The Ingredients
Slaw
- Red and white cabbage – I adore the contrast of these two and always feel red cabbage tastes just that tiny bit sweeter. But you could use one or the other. Chinese cabbage would probably be more authentic and is slightly softer, so use that if you are not the biggest fan of crunch. Though you can also regulate the shew factor by adjusting how fine you shred yours.
- Carrots – They balance the slight bitter notes from the cabbage with their sweetness. Sometimes I even add apple.
- Grapefruits – They play with both the bitter and sweet flavors from the veggies, intensifying both through their acidity. Pomelo would also be fabulous here.
Get creative with any other leftovers from your veggie drawer. Shred, chop or even fry, to adapt them.
Dressing
A lot of pretty typical Asian ingredients here like
- Rice vinegar, garlic and intense sweet heat of freshly grated ginger. Though I swapped in Coconut Aminos for the usual soy sauce, as they are sweeter and balancing the grapefruits tartness. If you only have soy, use that.
- Usually a neutral oil is used, but I found that by using a very flavorful toasted sesame oil, I don’t need as much.
- Sweet Chili Sauce – You can wildly swap around here, depending on the heat level you enjoy. I’m a wimp when it comes to spicyness, but the slight warmth from sweet chili sauce adds just the right amount for me.
Toppings
I often feel that toppings are at the heart of any good salad, and this slaw is no exception.
- Spring Onions – For some fresh green on top and a sweet gentle crispness.
- Crispy Fried Onions – You can find them ready made in many supermarkets. Often used to top hotdogs (I tend to put more onions than sausage on mine. Heck, leave out the sausage and I just have the soft bread with ketchup, mustard and crispy, aromatic onions).
- Sesame Seeds – I used black and white, because it looks so pretty, either will do. Or even some onion enhancing Nigella seeds.
- Fresh soft herbs – Cilantro and mint are classic and what I used, but some basil would work marvellous with the grapefruit. Thai basil if you can get your hands on it. And parsley, for those affected by the evil “Cilantro-tastes-like-soap” gene
The Process
Slaw
Using either your trusty food processor* or mandoline* or box grater* (please protect your fingers!) finely shred cabbage and carrots. If the carrots are thin skinned and fresh, I don’t bother peeling them. But with winter carrots I often do, to avoid some of the bitterness.
Add all the veggies to a huge mixing bowl*.
Nibble on some carrot and cabbage end pieces. Or make your dogs happy with carrot bits to chomp into confetti all over your kitchen floor.
Either filet grapefruits by slicing off the skin and pith, exposing the segments, then using a very sharp small knife, cutting each filet from its membrane. Or slice into rounds after peeling. Either way, enjoy the citrus mist tickling your nose and waking you up.
I usually keep these in a separate bowl and add them to the top of each serving, so they don’t vanish into the slaw.
Dressing
Whisk * together all dressing ingredients. Give it a taste. It should be pretty intense, as it will season a rather large amount of slaw. Pour over the slaw, massaging it in with your hands, until the cabbage is a little softened and all the dressing well distributed. Give it another taste and balance the flavors to your liking. I often add another bit of acidity in form of lime juice or vinegar. Maybe a little salt or coconut aminos.
Toppings
Slice the spring onions and sprinkle over the salad. Top with grapefruit, sesame seeds and crispy onions.
Enjoy with a piece of grilled chicken or crunchy fried tofu on the side. I love having a large bowl of this as main course. So satisfying!
Meal Prep
More often than not, I make a slaw similar to this Asian Slaw with Grapefruit at the start of the week and use it as main with any protein, in wraps, sandwiches or burgers.
It keeps in a lidded container in the fridge for about 4 days.
Here are other Plant centered recipes you might enjoy
Grilled Peach Mozzarella Salad
Quick Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies
Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share. It helps me a lot.
Asian Slaw with Grapefruit
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor or
Ingredients
Slaw
- ¼ white cabbage
- ¼ red cabbage or use ½ of either white or red
- 3 carrots
- 2 grapefruits I used pink
Dressing
- 5 tbsp coconut aminos or soy sauce or Tamari
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 ½ tbsp sweet chili sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp ginger grated
Topping
- ½ cup crispy fried onions
- 3 spring onions
- 1 cup soft herbs such as mint cilantro, basil or parsley
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds I used black and white for contrast. Either works fine
Instructions
Prepare the Slaw:
- Finely shred the white and red cabbage using a food processor *, mandoline *, or box grater *. (Be cautious of your fingers!)
- Grate the carrots. If they’re thin-skinned and fresh, you can skip peeling; for older or winter carrots, peeling helps reduce bitterness.
- Add the shredded cabbage and carrots to a large mixing bowl *.
Prepare the Grapefruit:
- To segment the grapefruit, slice off the skin and pith to expose the flesh. Use a sharp knife to cut out each segment from its membrane, or simply slice the peeled grapefruit into rounds.
- Keep the grapefruit pieces in a separate bowl to prevent them from getting lost in the slaw.
Make the Dressing:
- In a small bowl, whisk * together the coconut aminos, rice vinegar, lime juice, sesame oil, maple syrup, sweet chili sauce, minced garlic, and grated ginger.
- Taste the dressing—it should be intense. Adjust the flavors to your preference, adding more lime juice, vinegar, or salt if needed.
Combine the Slaw and Dressing:
- Pour the dressing over the shredded vegetables. Use your hands to massage the dressing into the slaw until the cabbage softens slightly and the dressing is evenly distributed. Taste again and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Assemble the Slaw:
- Transfer the dressed slaw to a serving platter or bowl. Arrange the grapefruit segments on top.
Add Toppings:
- Sprinkle sliced spring onions, sesame seeds, and crispy fried onions over the slaw.
- Garnish with your choice of soft herbs like mint, cilantro, basil, or parsley for a fresh and aromatic finish.
Notes
It keeps in a lidded container in the fridge for about 4 days.
Adding grapefruit to the slaw is wonderful idea,going to make it again healthy and delicious at same time.
Thank you. 🙂
This was such a delightful recipe! I loved the flavors and textures. Everything was so refreshing!
Thank you. 🙂
I love everyting about this meal. The flavors and texture are so so good. The fried onions were such a great addition. And my favorite part is the grapefruit. The citrus with that touch of light bitterness makes this a well-rounded dish. Yum! I’d give it a 10 start if I could. 🙂
Thank you, so happy you love it. Fruit in salad are probably my favourite thing. 🙂
This was DELIGHTFUL, such good texture and flavor. Can’t wait to make it again!
Thank you. 🙂
I love using any citrus fruits in a slaw and the grapefruit was a great choice. The sesame oil and ginger lend a wonderful taste along with crispy fried onions.
Thank you, so glad you like it. 🙂