This Asian slaw is a beautiful rainbow of colors with the purple cabbage, green edamame, orange carrots and red pepper. It’s truly a stunning dish when it’s all put together. It can be served as a side dish or add in some shredded chicken or cooked shrimp to make it a meal. The asian flavored dressing is light and adds the umami flavors of salty and savory. This dish is sure to be a household favorite!
As with most recipes I tweak them a bit to see where I can cut back on sugar, salt, calories and unhealthy fats while keeping the flavors and signature tastes of the cuisine. I could seriously sit down and eat a huge plate of this slaw by itself…it’s SO stinkin’ good!! This is the real reason I tweak recipes…so I don’t feel as guilty going back for seconds and thirds. I added in extra vegetables and heart healthy seeds and nuts and used a healthier alternative to the classic ramen noodles used in this dish.
How is this Asian slaw lightened up from the original recipe?
- I used half the sugar and swapped coconut aminos in place of soy sauce. Check out this post to learn more and decide which sauce is best for you.
- I added in more vegetables like celery, extra carrots and cucumbers
- I used this healthier alternative to the classic ramen noodles.
Confession: I love a good bowl of the classic $.35 a pack Maruchan Creamy Chicken Ramen noodles. They have brought me comfort many days in my younger years, with their rich, salty broth and tender noodles. However, we gain wisdom with age…at least we hope we do, and begin to correlate the fact that what we put into our bodies DOES matter. The noodles alone contain tons of preservatives and other ingredients that are not easy on our digestive systems. (If you do a Google search, you’ll find all kinds of things). Add in that packet of salty, MSG, fake flavoring goodness and you got your day’s worth of sodium and all kinds of other who knows what’s going on. Okay, sorry, this is not about ramen noodles, it’s about this amazing Asian flavored Slaw!
What you need to make Asian Ramen Slaw
- Light Tasting Olive Oil- light tasting olive oil is just that, it doesn’t have much flavor and won’t clash with the other rich flavors in this dish
- Rice vinegar
- Coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
- Coconut aminos- check out this post for more information
- Sesame oil
- Ginger powder
- Tri Color Slaw Mix
- Shelled Edamame
- Green Onion
- Celery
- Carrots
- Red Bell Pepper
- Cucumber
- Ramen noodles
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Walnuts
Good for you ingredients
I like the way this article from Harvard Medical School puts it: “Nuts and seeds are tiny packages of dense nutrition”. Nuts are highly nutritious, loaded with antioxidants and nutrients like Vitamin E, magnesium and selenium, and are a good source of fiber and healthy fats.
Pumpkin seeds: Pumpkin seeds are a rich source of magnesium. Magnesium is a mineral in our body that is required for over 300 functions in our body such as keeping our heart beating steady, muscle and nerve contraction and supporting a healthy immune system.
Walnuts: Walnuts are rich in antioxidants and Omega 3 fatty acids which are beneficial to our hearts and our brains. Brain cells with higher levels of Omega 3 in their membranes function more efficiently, communicate better with other cells, boost cognitive functioning and improve memory.
How to store leftovers
- To store: Store any leftovers in a resealable glass dish. Keep in the refrigerator and eat within 2 days.
- To freeze: I do not recommend freezing this slaw.
In a hurry? Try these shortcuts…
- Use prechopped veggies: onions, peppers, celery and carrots.
- Use a chopper or food processor to help chop ingredients.
- Frozen edamame can be ready in 5 minutes or less in the microwave.
- Make the dressing in the morning or the night before so you just have to toss, toast and mix later.
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Asian Ramen Slaw
This Asian slaw is a beautiful rainbow of colors with the purple cabbage, green edamame, orange carrots and red pepper. It’s truly a stunning dish when it’s all put together. It can be served as a side dish or add in some shredded chicken or cooked shrimp to make it a meal. The Asian flavored dressing is light and adds the umami flavors of salty and savory. This dish is sure to be a household favorite!
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 8 (1 cup) servings
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1/2 cup light tasting olive oil
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 1 TB coconut sugar
- 1 TB coconut aminos
- 1 tsp. sesame oil
- 1 tsp ginger powder
Slaw
- 16 oz bag of tricolor slaw mix
- 1 cup shelled and steamed edamame
- 2 green/spring onions diced
- 1/2 cup celery diced
- 2 carrots, shredded, diced or julienned (about 1 cup)
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 medium cucumber diced (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 packs of ramen noodles- soup packet discarded, (healthier version link)
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup walnuts
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Prepare the dressing
1. In a pint sized jar or larger, combine olive oil, vinegar, sugar, coconut aminos, sesame oil and ginger powder. Place the lid on and shake until well combined. Set aside for now.
Prepare the slaw
1. In a large mixing bowl, add in slaw mix, edamame, diced onion, diced celery, carrots, bell pepper and cucumber. Stir until all ingredients are well mixed. Set aside.
Toasting:
1. To a large baking sheet, add crushed ramen noodles (Note- easier to crush them in the bag so they do not crumble everywhere), pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and walnuts.
2. Spread out in an even layer, then place in the oven at 400 degrees to toast for about 3 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they will toast quickly. Pull them out when they just turn brown and set aside.
Combine ingredients
1. In a serving bowl, add slaw mix then pour dressing on top. Stir.
2. Add toasted ramen noodles, seeds and walnuts and give one final stir before serving.
Notes
Optional add ins:
- Mandarin oranges
- Craisins
- Serve with a protein and make this dish a meal
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes
- Category: side dish
- Cuisine: Asian
