Asian Slaw - great picnic and potluck recipe

Asian Slaw

Best made a day or so ahead.

1 small head cabbage

1 bell pepper, any color

2 small carrots or 1 medium carrot.

Sauce:

1/4 c rice wine vinegar

2 Tbsp Sesame Oil

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp freshly ground ginger (or that stuff in a jar at the produce section)

1/2 tsp garlic chili paste

1/2 tsp oyster sauce (optional)

1 Tbsp brown sugar

Cut up the veg into slaw-sized pieces

Blend sauce well (I like shaking it up in a jar) and pour over veggies, then toss.

Oscar found those cool-looking peppers called 'Ancient Sweets'. They are ultra flavorful, and remind me a bit of pimento. Hard to tell scale from the photo but they were about 8 inches long!.

If I had access to a dream produce department, I would have loved to add a chiffonade of shiso leaves, both green and purple, for color and their yummy sweet flavor (the Latin name is Perilla, I think it is also called beefsteak plant).

The photo of the slaw is pre-dressing. The dressing adds a bit of color, but not too much; sort of like a pale, shadowy glaze.

This is another of those recipes that can use whatever you've got in the fridge.

I have used broccoli slaw in the past, added shredded raw turnip or kohl rabi, pretty much any raw veggie can be shredded a bit and added to this. This, however is what I did today.

(Photos except for the shiso taken by me)