Crunchy, zesty and nutritious, this Napa cabbage salad is made in a style of an Asian slaw with shredded carrots and coriander, and tossed with honey, lime and ginger dressing. It’s a light and nutritious side dish.
What is Napa Cabbage?
I am a big fan of slaw salads, and recently I’ve been making a lot of recipes using Napa cabbage, also known as Chinese cabbage or wombok. It’s longer in shape and has softer, milder tasting leaves, which work perfectly in salads and stir-fries (like my chicken and cabbage stir-fry). One of my favourite fermented dishes kimchi is also made with this type of cabbage.
Napa Cabbage Salad Nutrition
Napa cabbage is high in vitamin C – a potent antioxidant and immunity booster – and has quite a bit of calcium for healthy bones and teeth, too!
It’s a great source of fibre (satiating, lowers cholesterol, improves digestion), folic acid or folate (B-vitamin required for cell production, converting carbohydrates for energy and more) and vitamin K (essential for blood-clotting).
Carrots, onions and herbs provide additional antioxidants, fibre, and healthy carbohydrates.
This Napa cabbage salad is made as a slaw that you can serve as a side dish with any kind of protein, but I particularly enjoy it with fish and poultry. If you’re doing one of my free paleo plans, this salad is great to add to the menu, especially with the oriental fish cakes from Week 4 or the chicken pear sausage from Week 2. I recently served it with my simple chicken rissoles and mango salsa.
Honey Lime Dressing
I made a lovely Asian salad dressing with lime juice, grated ginger and honey and if you like the flavour, feel free to make a larger batch to use up later in the week. It should last for up to a week in the fridge. You can replace honey with maple syrup or coconut syrup.
Make-ahead tip: Prepare the salad ingredients and store in an airtight container or a Ziplock bag without the dressing (don’t add the salt!). It should stay fresh for up to 2 days in the fridge. Season with salt and toss with the dressing just before serving.
More Cabbage Recipe You Might Like
- German Cabbage Salad With Shredded Ham
- Chicken Larb With Red Cabbage
- Rainbow Cabbage Slaw With Avocado Dressing
- Braised Cabbage With Potatoes & Chilli
- Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls With Crispy Bacon
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Ingredients
- 1/2 Napa cabbage
- 1 medium carrot grated
- 1 long green onion/scallion finely chopped
- A handful of fresh coriander/cilantro leaves chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
For the dressing
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon of honey can be omitted or replaced with coconut syrup or rice malt syrup
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Cut the cabbage half into two long quarters and then slice the leaves into thin shreds. You can leave some of the firmer, white parts closer to the root and use them up in a soup or a stir-fry.
- Combine the shredded cabbage with carrot, onions and coriander and sprinkle with salt. Set aside. If making this ahead of time, don't add the salt until you want to serve the salad as it will draw the moisture out of the cabbage and produce some juice.
- Whisk the salad dressing ingredients in a bowl and pour over the salad. Toss through with your hands and serve.
Made this last night for my family. It was delicious! Thank you!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.
Was looking for an easy, healthy way to use Napa cabbage from my CSA box and this did not disappoint!! I used maple syrup instead of honey and ginger from a tube! Ate with black bean burgers and so delicious…going to have leftovers with some rotisserie chicken. Thank you for sharing!
Fabulous!!! Thanks for letting me know, Amy. Glad you enjoyed it.
I would like the recipe for napa cabbage with the lime dressing pleas
Isn’t it in this recipe post?