Napa Cabbage Salad Recipe

There's just something about the taste and crunch of cabbage that screams freshness. This wonderful salad provides a crunchy melody of vegetables, including carrot ribbons, bell pepper, and onions, and its dressing with a soy sauce base takes the taste sensation to a whole new level. According to Hitchcock Farms, Napa cabbage is a Chinese cabbage that has plenty of great benefits for your health, including a good dose of iron.  

Recipe developer Catherine Brooks of Blue Sky Eating came up with this fantastic recipe. "This tasty salad is full of crunch and colour! The Asian-style dressing goes well with the mix of veggies," Brookes shares. "I find that Napa cabbage has much more flavor than regular lettuce, and [complements] the dressing really well." 

Keep reading to find out how to make this incredibly fresh dish. Trust us, this will be a new staple in your recipe rotation. 

It's time to get started on this wonderful recipe. The first thing you need to do is take a trip to the grocery store and load up on fresh ingredients. Stop in the produce aisle first and get a Napa cabbage and a large carrot. The recipe also calls for red bell pepper and some spring onions or scallions.

Moving down the list, you need some sesame seeds and soy sauce. While you're in the spice aisle, you can also pick up some garlic powder. To add even more flavor to the salad, grab sesame oil, rice vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.

Now that you have all of the ingredients, it's time to get chopping. "I like to use a medium-sized serrated knife. For the cabbage, the strips are probably about an inch thick. But you can chop as finely or chunky as you like — it's down to preference," Brookes shares. 

Next, peel the carrot. You can simply use a potato peeler for this. Once you peel the first layer off of the carrot, use the peeler to slice the rest of it into ribbons. For the red pepper and spring onions, you want to dice them as you would for other recipes. 

Once you've finished all of your slicing and dicing, transfer the veggies into a large salad bowl. Set it to the side for the time being, and then get to work on the dressing.

Take out a separate, small bowl and start adding the ingredients for the dressing. Begin with the soy sauce, then add garlic powder, honey, and sesame oil. Next, dump in the rice vinegar and salt and pepper. "I just used a small spoon and stirred quickly until the garlic powder dissolved," Brookes says. 

That's it for the dressing! Now, grab the bowl with your salad that you set aside before. Before you do anything else, sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top, then drizzle the salad dressing over the whole thing. That's the last missing piece of this yummy, Asian-inspired dish. 

Once you've done those two things, give the salad a few good tosses to coat each vegetable with some dressing. Alternatively, you could use tongs or a spoon to mix the salad and dressing together. This is one of the easiest steps in the process, and the last step is the best one. 

Once you finish mixing the salad, it's time to kick back and enjoy. Simply add the salad to a bowl and serve it to your guests. You can enjoy this salad on its own or with something else. "Sandwich topper idea is great!" Brookes shares. "I feel like it would go well with some cold noodles, too. Or maybe with some crispy tofu." 

If you have anything left, don't sweat it. "Leftovers should keep 2 days covered in the fridge," Brookes shares. 

We hope you love this recipe as much as we do!