Market stall to table: Make Vietnamese-style slaw this season

The slaw has an incredibly refreshing taste. This is thanks to the well-known herb leaves, often used in European cuisine. We usually add it to lemonade, and Asians decided to combine it with cabbage, carrots, and onions. Do you guess that it's mint?

Not a master of Asian cuisine? Shredded young cabbage is an excellent pretext to start this culinary adventure. It’s not difficult to prepare this type of side dish, and we are in the peak season for the necessary vegetables.

Even today, you can buy the main ingredients for this slaw at the market stall. These are young vegetables, carrots, onions, and, most importantly, cabbage. Now, it's worth eating raw as often as possible. It contains the most vitamins from the B group, especially C, K, and A, and folic acid. It also has calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. It's low-calorie. Cabbage helps regulate the intestines, lowers bad cholesterol, detoxifies and alkalizes the body, and supports the immune system. Have you eaten stewed cabbage with dill a few times this season? It's time for Vietnamese slaw!

You can buy the ingredients for the slaw at the market stall, but to season it, you need to stock up on Asian products. These are fish sauce and rice vinegar. It’s worth having them in the kitchen cupboard because they are helpful for many dishes, not only Vietnamese but also Thai or Chinese. Add lime and chilli pepper to the shopping list, too. Without them, Asians also can't imagine their dishes. The recipe for the sauce also includes sugar. In Vietnamese cuisine, the flavours should blend gently. This slaw is, therefore, spicy, sweet, and sour at the same time. It goes well with most meats that we prepare for the main course and grilled dishes.

Ingredients:

• half a head of young cabbage,
• 2 young carrots,
• young onion,
• 1 chilli pepper,
• a few sprigs of mint.

For the sauce:

• 2 tablespoons of oil,
• 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar,
• 1 tablespoon of fish sauce,
• juice from half a lime,
• 1 teaspoon of sugar,
• 2 garlic cloves,
• black pepper to taste.

Preparation:

1. Wash the cabbage, dry it thoroughly, and cut out the core. Finely chop it and transfer it to a large bowl.
2. Peel the carrots and grate them on a large-eyed grater. Slice the young onion into thin feathers. Remove the chilli pepper seeds and chop them as finely as possible. Chop the mint leaves.
3. Add the prepared vegetables and mint to the cabbage and mix.
4. Start preparing the sauce by pressing the garlic through a press. Add lime juice, rice vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, and oil. Mix the ingredients well and season the sauce with freshly ground pepper.
5. Pour the prepared sauce over the slaw and mix to ensure all ingredients are coated with the sauce.