This spicy sesame cabbage crunch salad is intensely satisfying: both spicy & sweet, loaded with fresh flavors, and bursting with crunch.
Jump to RecipeThis salad is packed with colorful veggies and is dressed with a homemade spicy sesame ginger dressing that satisfies my sweet tooth and brings the heat.
It’s a great way to get fresh, fibrous cruciferous vegetables into everyone’s diet… even our toddler enjoyed this salad!
Serve it as a colorful side dish or make it a meal by adding some chicken, shrimp, tofu, and/or nuts!
What sets this salad apart from other sesame cabbage salads:
The spicy kick from the jalapeño and the richness from the avocado make this traditional asian salad more of an asian fusion salad instead.
By bringing in flavors from around the world, this sweet and spicy sesame cabbage crunch salad has all the right flavors to be both comforting and intriguing.
I also made this recipe more accessible for everyone by specifically not having a laundry list of hard to source ingredients. I wanted this to be a “simple summer salad” that can be whipped up relatively quick on a spring or summer’s afternoon using fairly conventional ingredients.
Spicy sesame cabbage crunch salad ingredients:
Green & red cabbage: red cabbage offers a slightly more pungent flavor in its earthy cabbage taste. Meanwhile, green cabbage is milder and helps round out the flavors. It also adds a visually appealing contrast.
Carrot: freshly, julienned carrots help give this cabbage salad and additional crunch. However, you can certainly purchase matchstick carrots from the grocery store for added convenience. Or, if you have a mandoline slicer, you can achieve perfectly uniform matchstick carrots right at home.
Red bell pepper: red pepper gives a subtle, sweet spiciness and fits in nicely with the cabbage flavors. You can easily swap red bell pepper for orange or yellow. Personally, I wouldn’t add green pepper in this salad though as they are less sweet than red, orange, or yellow.
Avocado: adding avocado gives a creamy, richness to the salad and a unique twist. I find I stay fuller for longer, too, with the added fats from the avocado.
Cilantro: it adds a fragrant, herbal spiciness without the heat!
Jalapeño: adds crunch and as turns up the heat dial. Leave the seed in for maximum heat or omit if you prefer to make this salad more mild. You can sub jalapeños for Serrano peppers if you prefer, but I think jalapeños are always my first choice for this salad.
Dressing ingredients:
The sauce: you’ll need freshly minced ginger (or this minced ginger from Ginger People is great too), crushed garlic, pure sesame oil, olive oil, soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos), rice vinegar (can sub for apple cider vinegar), maple syrup (honey would also work), sesame seeds, and tahini (totally optional).
Note: for added heat, you can add a chili oil paste. For added tang, you can add some freshly squeezed lime.
This salad wouldn’t be what it is without a homemade sesame ginger dressing added to it. To date, I have never found a store-bought one that I’m happy with enough to recommend.
Don’t stress! If you don’t have all the dressing ingredients, don’t worry too much. I’ve bolded the most important ingredients that are the ones that are difficult to substitute for something else.
Optional add-ons for this spicy, sweet salad:
Add a protein! Shrimp, chicken, or tofu would work really well with these flavors and veggie textures.
Add fruit! A firm or freshly ripened mango or mandarin oranges would be my recommendation. Chopped dragon fruit would be a nice addition, if you can find it!
Add nuts! Adding raw or toasted cashews or sliced almonds would be a great way to add some protein to this salad. Go with sliced almonds for maximum crunch or cashews for more sweetness.
Add noodles! Chow Mein noodles, ramen noodles, sweet potato glass noodles or vermicelli rice noodles would all be beautiful choices for this dish. Personally, I wouldn’t add rice as I don’t think its texture adds anything special to this dish.
Spicy Sesame Cabbage Crunch Salad
Course: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: Asian Fusion4
servings30
minutesIngredients
- The veggies:
3 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
3 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
1 cup carrots, thinly sliced into matchsticks (or bagged, if you need to save time)
1 – 2 avocados, sliced (go with 2 avocados if you like a creamier salad)
3/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro
1 large jalapeño, sliced (sub for Serrano peppers if you prefer)
- The dressing:
3 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, finely minced or grated
2 tablespoons pure sesame oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce (or sub for tamari or coconut aminos)
3 tablespoons rice vinegar (rice vinegar works best, but you can also use apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar)
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (or honey)
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
1 tablespoon of tahini (optional)
1 teaspoon chili oil paste or sriracha (optional)
Directions
- Whisk together the salad dressing ingredients. Or, you can simply add your ingredients to a mason jar and shake together for easy clean up and storage.
- Thinly slice all of your salad veggies. To rapidly speed up the process, I recommend using a mandoline slicer if you have one. It’s a great tool to have if you’re a big veggie eater, and it’s relatively inexpensive.
- Pour the dressing on your veggies and toss to combine. I recommend using salad tongs to evenly work through the veggies, ensure all veggies have been well-coated. You can also shake up your veggies, along with the dressing, in a gallon ziplock bag for easy clean up and storage, too.
- Serve: use a large, shallow platter or serving dish. Garnish with extra sesame seeds, jalapeño slices, and cilantro.
Notes
- You can easily prep all the veggies in advance (wash & slice) and wait to assemble the salad until the day of if you’re entertaining. I actually prefer to make this salad a couple hours before I plan on eating it to allow all the juices from the dressing to marinate the cabbage.
- Add the sliced avocado when you’re ready to serve.
- This salad stays fresh for 2 – 3 days when stored in an air-tight container in the fridge.
