Take a simple Chinese cabbage throw in some crunchy seeds add a simple Asian dressing and hey presto a super Seedy Chinese Cabbage Salad that will have them begging for more.
A must-have salad to keep in your recipe collection, the seeds in this salad are what really makes it so special – with wonderful bits of crunchy nuttiness at every bite.
Serving Ideas
A great salad to serve with almost everything from red meats, poultry, and seafood. Try it at your next barbecue, it will be a huge hit! We served ours with 5-spice pork chops.
Which seeds should I use?
With so many choices of seeds to choose from, I will leave it up to you to pick the ones you love most.
- Pumpkin Seeds – have a soft white or creme covered shell that is difficult to remove and are found in carving pumpkins. They have a soft, chewy texture with a sweet, nutty flavour.
- Pepitas – these do not have a shell and come from hull-less pumpkins such as oilseed or Styrian. The flavour is light and nutty, with a smooth texture. A great option with the Chinese cabbage.
- Sunflower Seeds – are the fruits of the sunflower plant, with a mild, nutty flavour and a firm but tender texture. Another great option with the
Chinese cabbage. - Poppy Seeds – are an oilseed obtained from poppies, they are tiny and have a tendency to get stuck in your teeth. They also have a nutty but sometimes fruity flavour.
- Sesame – are sold with their hulls removed and are one of the oldest oilseeds crop known, when raw they have a mild, sweet, nutty taste and aroma which intensifies when you toast them. They have a sour rancid aroma when they have gone bad. Sesame is another good seed for this salad.
- Black Sesame – are sold with their hull intact, they have a richer, earthier slightly bitter taste compared to their white counterparts. Black sesame is just sensational in this Chinese Cabbage Salad!
- Nigella Seeds – are harvested from an annual plant and also referred to as onion seeds, black cumin, black caraway and fennel flower, just to name a few. Nigella seeds have little or no aroma but have
an herby , slightly bitter and with a slightly toasted onion flavour to them. These will add a little something special to your salad. - Linseeds – also known as flaxseeds come from the flax plant and are powerhouses of nutrition. They can either be small, reddish-brown or golden-yellow with a subtle nutty, slightly earthy flavour. Another wonderful choice here.
- Chia Seeds – are tiny black seeds harvested from a flowering plant in the mint family and are a complete plant-based protein. They have a mild nutty flavour when dry that become soft when wet. I would not recommend you use them in this salad as they will lose their crunch as they have a jelly-like consistency when wet.
YOU WILL NEED:
How to make your Chinese Cabbage Salad
1Roast your seeds and nuts
Preheat your oven to oven to 1800C 3600F ). On a lined baking tray, place your seeds on one side and your cashews on the other and roast until golden brown approximately 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cold plate to cool.
2Cut your vegetables…
Remove the hard core and any damaged and the thick outer leaves from your cabbage, separate the leaves and wash them gently under cold running water. Shake to remove excess water and pat dry. Then shred finely using a sharp chef’s knife.
Wash, trim and peel your carrots either spiralize using a spiralizer or cut into a fine julienne with a mandoline or grate coarsely.
To prepare your capsicum, cut it in half and remove the core, seeds and inner ribs with a parring or any other small knife. Rinse under cold water.
Then place the glossy side of the capsicum face down (it is much easier to slice this way as your knife does not slip) and cut into 2 cm (½ inch strips).
REMOVE THE HARD CORE WASH THE LEAVES PAT THEM DRY SHRED YOUR CABBAGE JULIENNE YOUR CARROTS SLICE YOUR CAPSICUM (BELL PEPPER)
3Prepare your garnish
Wash and trim your spring onions and chillies, then slice both thinly on the diagonal.
Place all your vinaigrette ingredients together in a glass jar, season with some sea salt and cracked black pepper and shake until emulsified.
4Assemble the salad
Place your cabbage, carrots, capsicum, seeds and cashews in a large mixing bowl, pour over the oil and rice wine vinegar, season with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Toss until the vegetables are coated with the dressing and the seeds and nuts are evenly distributed throughout the salad.
Arrange on a salad platter scatter the spring onion and chillies on top to garnish, place in your fridge to chill until you are ready to serve your Chinese Cabbage Salad.
SLICE ONIONS DIAGONALLY SLICE THE CHILLI DIAGONALLY ADD ALL INGREDIENTS TO BOWL TOSS WELL TO COMBINE
Some tips for making this salad
- You can easily shred the cabbage and carrots and keep them separately in water the day before. I like to keep them in separate containers so that the carrots do not discolour the cabbage.
- I also buy my seeds individually and mix them together when I get home, then I will store them in an airtight container to add to salads whenever I like. Occasionally I will toast them for some added nuttiness.
Can I make this salad ahead?
- This Chinese Cabbage Salad is even better if you make it an hour to two in advance allowing all the flavours to meld together.
- Make a big batch of this salad (minus the dressing) and keep it in your fridge for your lunchbox throughout the week, just add the dressing the day before.
Hungry for more slaw recipes…
Equipment
- Mandoline / V-Slicer
- Spiralizer or Julienne Peeler or Box Grater
Ingredients
- ½ Chinese Cabbage {Nappa Cabbage/Wombok} (approximately 700 grams)
- 2 medium carrots (approximately 360 grams)
- 1 medium green capsicum {bell pepper} (approximately 300 grams)
- 1 spring onions
- 1 cup mixed seeds, roasted {I used pepitas, sunflower seeds, linseeds and black sesame seeds}
- 1 cup cashews, roasted roasted
- 1-2 long chillies
- ½ cup MCT oil {you could also use extra virgin olive oil or peanut oil}
- ⅓ cup rice vinegar
Instructions
- Roast your seeds and nuts in a preheated oven (180°C / 360°F until golden brown (approximately 10-15 minutes).
- Wash and trim all your vegetables, finely shred your cabbage, either spiralize or julienne or grate your carrots, cut your capsicums into 2cm (1 inch) strips.
- Trim your spring onion and chillies, rinse under cold water and slice on the diagonal.
- Place your ingredients (except the sliced green onion and chillies) in a large mixing bowl, add the oil and rice vinegar, season and toss until well combined.
- Arrange in a salad platter scatter the green onions and chilli on top to garnish, chill in the fridge until ready to serve.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
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