How to Make Thai Cabbage Salad

Cabbage is cheap and full of antioxidants as well as vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium and folic acid. The mild flavor goes well with peanut sauce in this Thai-style salad. Add carrots, which provide provitamin A carotenes, for sweetness. The green bell peppers give more vitamins C and B6, vitamin K, thiamine and folic acid.

Things You'll Need

• 1 garlic clove
• Fresh ginger to taste
• 1/4 cup of rice vinegar
• 3 tbsps. soy sauce
• 2 tbsps. sugar
• 1/3 cup of old-fashioned peanut butter
• 1 head of cabbage
• 3 carrots
• 1 green bell pepper
• 3 tbsps. peanuts, shelled and halved

Instructions

1. Crush the garlic clove with a garlic press and grate the ginger into a small bowl.

2. Add the rice vinegar, soy sauce and sugar. Whisk with a fork until the sugar dissolves.

3. Spoon in the peanut butter. Mix carefully with the fork until smooth. Place in the refrigerator to let the flavors blend.

4. Cut the cabbage into fourths and wash thoroughly under running water. Slice thin, small cabbage strips and place in a large salad bowl. You may want to discard the thick stem portions of the cabbage leaves to prevent bitterness.

5. Peel the carrots and cut into matchstick-size, thin strips. Mix the salad with your hands.

6. Wash the green bell pepper under running water. Remove the stem and seeds. Cut into thin strips about the size of your carrot pieces and mix them into the salad.

7. Warm a small frying pan on a low heat. Pour the peanuts into the pan and shake the pan constantly until the peanuts are brown on all sides.

8. Mix the peanut dressing in gently, making sure to coat all vegetables. Top with the peanuts. Let the salad sit for a day before serving.

Tips & Warnings

• Substitute Napa or Chinese cabbage for a more delicate Thai salad.

• Thinner carrots are sweeter.

• It's important to mix in all the vegetables before adding the dressing because cabbage gets dense, and you want the dressing to reach everything.

• You can omit the bell pepper if your kids don't like its bitter taste.

Resources

• Find nutritional information about cabbage.