Easy Asian Slaw

This easy Asian slaw recipe tosses crunchy veggies with a simple ginger dressing. It is quick, perfectly easy, and holds up beautifully in the fridge for days.

We are always happy to add more slaw recipes to the blog, and this Asian slaw with a creamy ginger dressing is a new favorite. What I love most is the texture. We shred the cabbage just as we do for classic coleslaw, but then peel the carrots into ribbons. It sort of elevates the carrots, adds more crunch, and looks fantastic (just look at the photos!).

Serve this easy slaw with just about anything! We especially love it with grilled chicken or steak, and with teriyaki chicken. It’s even fantastic added to pulled pork for a sandwich, but I’ve shared more ideas below.

Key Ingredients

• Cabbage, Carrots, and Bell Pepper: Use whatever cabbage you have on hand. We used white cabbage in the photos, but Napa cabbage (like what we use for our Napa cabbage salad) is also an excellent choice. The carrots add color and crunch. We peel them into ribbons for extra texture. Then, for some extra sweetness, we add sliced red bell pepper.
• Green Onions and Cilantro: The green onions add an onion flavor without overpowering anything, and the cilantro keeps the slaw tasting bright and fresh.
• Ginger Dressing: To make the Asian slaw dressing, you will combine freshly grated ginger (or ginger paste), soy sauce, honey, lime juice, mayonnaise, and plain yogurt. It is incredibly creamy, but thanks to the lime juice and yogurt, it’s on the lighter side, and definitely not goopy. Another dressing that would be lovely here is our carrot ginger dressing.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Asian Slaw

Tip 1: Shredding cabbage for slaw. You have a few easy options. First, you can use a sharp chef’s knife (as seen in our photo below). Simply quarter the head of cabbage, remove the core, and then finely shred the quarters. If you have a food processor with a shredding blade, it makes incredibly quick work of the cabbage, too. Finally, a standard vegetable peeler can also be used to turn the cabbage into fine shreds.

Tip 2: Peel the carrots into ribbons. In our vinegar coleslaw, we shred the carrots on a box grater. For this Asian slaw recipe, however, we use a vegetable peeler to shave the carrots into long, thin ribbons. They look gorgeous in the bowl, and we both love the extra texture.

Tip 3: Make the Asian slaw dressing. This dressing is wonderfully simple. You will make it right in a small bowl, simply stirring the ingredients together with a spoon. Before tossing it with your vegetables, always taste it. You should be able to taste a distinct hint of ginger. If the flavor is barely there, add a little more ginger until you do.

Tip 4: Refrigerate for 20 minutes before serving. We rely on this technique for almost all the coleslaw recipes we share. You want to give the dressing a little time to properly flavor and slightly soften the vegetables. Toss the slaw together, then slide it into the fridge for 20 minutes before serving.

Storing and Make Ahead

You can easily prep the vegetables and the dressing in advance. Shred the cabbage, peel the carrot ribbons, and slice the bell pepper, then store them together in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The dressing can be whisked together and kept in a separate jar in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Because cabbage and carrots are so sturdy, this slaw holds up really well in the fridge. Once tossed, it will keep in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The vegetables will soften a little each day as they marinate, but are still lovely.

Since the dressing contains a little mayonnaise and yogurt, it is best not to let the slaw sit out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. If you are serving it outdoors on a warm afternoon, try to keep the bowl chilled and do not let it sit out for more than 1 hour.

Serving Suggestions

Thanks to the dressing, this slaw brings a lot of flavor to your plate. It is perfect with grilled or baked chicken, pork chops, glazed salmon, and baked salmon. I also particularly love it with salmon patties (which are incredibly easy and made with canned salmon). It would be fantastic on shrimp burgers, pork burgers, tucked into tacos of all kinds, and even as a fresh side with pork tenderloin.

On those evenings when we are simply too tired to cook a big meal, we often pair this slaw with whatever quick protein we have on hand. Since you can keep it in the fridge for a few days, it is perfect for sprucing up a basic weeknight dinner without much effort.