This Asian slaw is my take on a fresh coleslaw with Chinese-inspired flavours. Fresh veggies tossed together in a simple tangy dressing, makes a great side dish for meaty dishes and especially BBQ.
Perfect for people who don’t like creamy coleslaw.

A tall shot of Asian Slaw. The Asian Slaw is in a large light grey bowl, with a wooden spoon sticking out of the dish. In the top right of the image, you can slightly see a clear glass dish with the remaining dressing in it. In the top middle of the image, you can see a grey dish with chopped coriander on it and scattered around the dish. On the bottom right of the image, you can see a light brown dish filled with peanuts and some peanuts scattered around it, there is also a slate grey napkin tucked next to it. This is all set on a dark grey background.
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I’m calling this Asian slaw as I don’t really know the origin of it and whenever I’ve seen it on menus at restaurants this is what it’s known as.

I guess it could also be classed as a lighter coleslaw (since it’s not a creamy coleslaw) or slaw with a sweet-tangy dressing.
Either way, it’s crunchy, tangy and very tasty!

📋 What do we need?

An overhead shot of the ingredients for Asian Slaw. They are laid out on a wooden cutting board. They are red and white cabbage, Spring onions, Cucumber, Coriander, a carrot, Beansprouts and Roasted and Salted Peanuts.

Beansprouts – You can store the beansprouts in cold water in the fridge to make their shelf life much longer! (see recipe card notes for more info)

An overhead shot of the ingredients for Asian Slaw Dressing. They are laid out on a wooden cutting board. They are as follows: Roasted and Salted Peanuts, Honey, Sesame Seeds, Toasted Sesame Oil, Avocado Oil, Chinese Rice Vinegar, a red chilli, and a clove of garlic.

Chilli – The chilli in this dressing is optional, you can just leave it out if you don’t want the heat.

Avocado Oil – You can use any neutral-flavoured oil such as peanut, sunflower or olive oil, we use sesame oil as well to add in that nutty sesame flavour.

How to make Asian Slaw

Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.

  1. This recipe is SUPER simple, first, you just mix up all the dressing ingredients together in a separate dish.
  2. Then toss all the slaw ingredients in a large bowl, pour over the dressing and toss again.
  3. Top with peanuts and sesame seeds and you’re done!

Pro Tip

You can use a mandoline slicer (<–affiliate link) to finely and uniformly chop the veggies for the Asian Slaw but it’s not necessary, you can still do this by hand.

I really love how the salty nutty flavour of the peanuts works with the tangy sweet dressing. What a burst of flavour!

A tall shot of Asian Slaw. The Asian Slaw is in a large light grey bowl, with a wooden spoon sticking out of the dish. In the right of the image, you see a clear glass dish with the remaining dressing in it, which is being poured by a hand onto the main dish of Asian Slaw. In the top left of the image, you can see a grey dish with chopped coriander on it and scattered around the dish. On the bottom right of the image, you can see a light brown dish filled with peanuts and some peanuts scattered around it, there is also a slate grey napkin tucked next to it. This is all set on a dark grey background.

🍽️ What to serve it with

This Asian slaw is a really nice fresh side dish to go with a lot of things. It works especially well with meaty dishes or BBQ such as:

This is such a refreshing and summery side dish!

A tall, overhead shot of Asian Slaw. The Asian Slaw is in a large light grey bowl, with a wooden spoon sticking out of the dish. In the top right of the image, you can slightly see a clear glass dish with the remaining dressing in it, with a silver spoon sticking out of it. In the top middle of the image, you can see a grey dish with chopped coriander on it and scattered around the dish. On the bottom right of the image, you can see a light brown dish filled with peanuts and some peanuts scattered around it, there is also a slate grey napkin tucked next to it. This is all set on a dark grey background.

🍲 More fantastic side dishes

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A square, closeup shot of Asian Slaw. The Asian Slaw is in a large light grey bowl, with a wooden spoon sticking out of the dish. In the top right of the image, you can slightly see a clear glass dish with the remaining dressing in it. This is all set on a dark grey background.
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5 from 1 vote

Asian Slaw Recipe

By Nicky Corbishley
This Asian slaw is my take on a fresh coleslaw with Chinese-inspired flavours. Fresh veggies tossed together in a simple tangy dressing, makes a great side dish for meaty dishes and especially BBQ. Perfect for people who don't like creamy coleslaw.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4 -6 Servings
Course: Sides
Cuisine: Asian

Ingredients

Coleslaw:

  • ⅛ white cabbage (approx 200g) finely sliced
  • ⅛ red cabbage (approx 200g) finely sliced
  • 3 spring onions (scallions) finely sliced
  • 1 medium carrot (approx 100g) finely sliced
  • 100 g fresh bean sprouts
  • ¼ cucumber (approx 100g) finely sliced
  • 1 bunch fresh coriander (cilantro) roughly torn
  • 2 tbsp salted peanuts roughly chopped

Asian Salad Dressing:

  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 clove garlic (minced)
  • 1 tbsp oil (peanut, sunflower or olive)
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 finely chopped red chilli (optional)

To Serve:

  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 1 tbsp salted peanuts roughly chopped
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Instructions 

To make the dressing:

  • Add all of the dressing ingredients into a bowl or a jar with a tightly fitting lid.
    2 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 clove garlic (minced), 1 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 finely chopped red chilli
  • Mix it together (or place a lid on the jar and shake) until thoroughly combined, then place to one side whilst we make the slaw.

For the Asian Slaw:

  • Add all of the coleslaw ingredients into a large mixing bowl and toss together until combined and mixed together.
    1/8 white cabbage, 1/8 red cabbage, 3 spring onions (scallions), 1 medium carrot, 100 g fresh bean sprouts, 1/4 cucumber, 1 bunch fresh coriander (cilantro), 2 tbsp salted peanuts
  • Pour over the dressing we made earlier and toss again.
  • Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle over the sesame seeds and chopped peanuts and serve.
    1 tbsp salted peanuts, 1 tbsp sesame seeds

Notes

NOTE 1 – Slicing the vegetables:

You can slice the veggies using a mandoline for a uniform fine slice.

Can I make it ahead? 

You can certainly make this ahead, just mix up the dressing, and make up the vegetable slaw, then cover and store them separately in the refrigerator (for up to a day). When you are ready to serve, just pour over the dressing and toss it together, then sprinkle on the sesame seeds and nuts.

Beansprouts Tip:

Fresh beansprouts have a really short shelf-life (usually 2-3 days before they go slimy). To keep them fresh for longer:
  1. Remove from the bag as soon as you get home and rinse under cold water.
  2. Place in a tupperware box (one you have an air-tight lid for).
  3. Completely cover in cold water, place the lid on and refrigerate.
They should last at least a week if your change the water every few days. I learnt this from Nagi at Recipetineats and it’s a game changer.

How to scale up and scale down this recipe. 

This recipe can be doubled up for a crowd or halved for two people, sticking to the same ingredient ratios.

The nutritional information is approximate per serving (based on this recipe serving 6) including the dressing and serving suggestions.

Nutrition

Calories: 136kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 48mg | Potassium: 316mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 2340IU | Vitamin C: 47mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this recipe? Leave a comment below!

Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.

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Comments

  1. Anne-Marie Studden says:

    Hi
    Is it okay to eat raw beansprouts? The packaging states, do not eat raw!
    Thanks x

    Reply
  2. John marshall says:

    5 stars
    Good recipe will be making this at the weekend. Thanks.

    Reply