Lowcountry Pickled Coleslaw

Lowcountry Pickled Coleslaw
Hunter McRae for The New York Times
Total Time
15 minutes, plus chilling time
Rating
4(416)
Notes
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Ben Moïse, a retired game warden in South Carolina, has been serving a version of this coleslaw at his Frogmore stew parties for years. The hot, boiled dressing softens the cabbage and pickles it slightly. The result is a salad that stays delicious even when it sits outside on a picnic table for a few hours. The amount of vegetables can vary, and a finely chopped jalapeño can be added for a little extra heat. —Kim Severson

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

    For the Slaw

    • 5cups chopped green cabbage (½-inch pieces)
    • 2cups chopped purple cabbage (½-inch pieces)
    • ½heaping cup chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
    • ½cup finely diced carrot
    • ½cup finely diced red bell or other sweet pepper

    For the Dressing

    • 1large clove garlic
    • ½tablespoon salt, more to taste
    • 1tablespoon minced ginger
    • cup rice wine vinegar
    • ½cup olive oil

    For Serving

    • Juice of 1 freshly squeezed lime
    • Salt and freshly ground pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

143 calories; 14 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 208 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the slaw: Put the chopped and diced vegetables in a bowl or other container that will fit in the refrigerator.

  2. Step 2

    Make the dressing: Crush the garlic, and with the side of a knife work the salt into the clove until it makes a rough paste. Add the garlic paste, ginger, vinegar, oil and ⅓ cup water to a saucepan and bring to a low boil. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring now and then. Remove from heat. Allow to cool for 1 or 2 minutes, then pour over the vegetables, tossing well to combine. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

  3. Step 3

    Just before serving, toss with the lime juice and a few grinds of black pepper. Taste and add salt if needed.

Ratings

4 out of 5
416 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

You may need to wait until the dressing is completely cooled before adding. My first attempt at this recipe resulted in a soggy slaw. I may reduce the amount of water in the dressing when I try this again. The ginger was a nice twist to my usual slaw recipes.

Substituted purple-skinned kohlrabi for the purple cabbage and used scallions from the farm for the onion. Very, very nice recipe -- went great with the venison we served (sous vide for 2 hours and finished with a cast-iron pan sear with butter and herbs).

Used less than 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/8 cup rice wine vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoon salt with clove of garlic and a sprinkle of dried ginger. Once the cabbage the s salted it releases its own water. May have benefitted from a touch of honey or sugar, but overall amount of cabbage needs half the amount of dressing suggest.

I might cut the salt back by 1/2 teaspoon in the dressing then add more later if desired. For us the heat of the jalepeno was crucial. It was better the next day. A nice alternative to traditional coleslaw and was gobbled up at a potluck.

This slaw was a big hit doubled for a first cookout of Northeast season last night, and I only added water at last minute from directions which left it out of ingredients list. It was too soupy for vinaigrette & I’ll omit in future.

I made a little more dressing than the recipe called for, as I added a few extra cups of cabbage. Probably should have made more! Will add the red pepper and jalapeño tomorrow before serving, along with the lime. But even just made, it's really tasty!

Less oil More vinegar (or use red wine vinegar?) No water Jalapeño— be generous

I made this today for our Memorial Day gathering. Everyone loved it. I waited to add the dressing (cooled) until a few hours before the meal. I did add a little extra salt as I thought it needed it. Nice flavor — I’m not a fan of creamy coleslaws so this was nice.

Shocked, I tell ya. My daughter and I made a huge bowl of this, assuming that we made way too much for the small crowd. It was almost gone! Someone commented that they looked forward to eating the leftovers! We made this just as written but cut back slightly on the water after reading comments.

All purple cabbage—very virtuous alongside of Turkey chili cheese dogs for Labor Day! Added a touch of honey—could have added more—needed just a tic more of something—maybe more robust peppers. Used no water and half the oil. Very tasty & love that it is non-dairy!

Great with chopped mango and cilantro for tacos, etc.

Try som jalapeño next time.

Skipped the olive oil and it was light and delicious.

Easy aside from the chopping, delish and, as others have noted, add a generous drizzling of lime and lime zest before serving

Delicious. Omitted the water as suggested by others and was perfect.

Made the dressing without water. Lime juice a must. Don’t forget to leave time for it to sit.

Used less than 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/8 cup rice wine vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoon salt with clove of garlic and a sprinkle of dried ginger. Once the cabbage the s salted it releases its own water. May have benefitted from a touch of honey or sugar, but overall amount of cabbage needs half the amount of dressing suggest.

This is the first time I have made this and it probably was the best cole slaw recipe I have ever tried. I am not a fan of the mayo recipes and this one lets you put in all the veggies you want. I did add honey to the dressing. Felt like it needed some sweet and it did for our taste. Also added jalapeños!

This is delicious! Nice way to add a little pop to basic slaw. Big fan. I definitely added in the jalapeño, the little kick is necessary!

Slight edits: I julienned the cabbage, carrots, and cucumbers (what I had on hand) and tossed the onions into the vinegar dressing at the end of boiling to soften the onion blow. Light, refreshing, and perfect for a hot day and a pulled pork sandwich.

It's great to make this recipe for the dressing alone, so nice and gingery. I reduced a couple tablespoons worth of olive oil, and also reduced the water to about 1/8 cup based on other comments. I'm used to a little sweetness in my dressing, so I added a touch of honey. It seems an incredibly versatile dressing for combinations of fresh, hardy vegetables. I used shredded celery root, red cabbage, a ton of carrots, and fresh parsley leaves. I bet even jicama would add a nice crunch.

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Credits

Adapted from Ben Moïse

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