Crunchy Asian Slaw with a Peanut-Lime Dressing

Colorful and crunchy veggies with cilantro and peanuts, all tossed with a Thai-inspired peanut-lime dressing. Light, fresh, and perfect for entertaining! 

It's hard to believe we have been in this home for 4 years already. Prior to that we lived in our first home together for 9 years, and spent the second half of those years house-hunting looking for a home we could stay in forever.

When we first looked at our current home we liked the layout, the size, and the possibilities, but knew it would take some work. Ok, a lot of work. Then we stepped out onto the patio and were sold - a large, private, tree-lined back yard (gives us so much shade!!!) with an enormous flagstone patio (that needed a lot of work and we eventually replaced). But the best part of the entire yard is the garden wall that curves around the entire patio with a large garden behind it. We spent an hour sitting on that wall, looking at the trees, and talking about the house - and it was March in the Northeast so it was chilly. Immediately we made an offer.

Yes, we bought the house for the garden wall and trees.

One of my friends calls our backyard an oasis, and because of this we made plans to have dinner together on the patio. We were so determined to enjoy a night on the patio that we rescheduled twice due to weather! Then, last week, we had the most perfect Saturday. It was sunny with low humidity and a light breeze. We lit several torches around the garden bed and I made really easy centerpieces out of mason jars, groundcover and herbs, and floating candles to sit on our new table. An oasis it was!

My menu had to revolve around grilling and warm weather food, and since my friend loves Asian inspired food but never cooks it, I went in that direction.

We had edamame to start. Our main course was Jon's grilled beef negimaki. To go along with it I made noodles tossed in a sesame soy mixture with green onions and sesame seeds, and this amazing Asian Slaw.

This slaw is packed with so many crunchy veggies and just look at those colors! Just looking at this slaw makes me want it again ASAP! The dressing for this is awesome too - peanut butter, lime juice, and some heat from Sambal Oelek. It is thick enough to really coat all of the veggies but isn't too heavy at all. Surprisingly, even after being dressed, the leftovers held up fine in the fridge for 2 days! So feel free to make a lot of you want to have some leftover.

Thanks to our friends for sharing a great night of friendship and food with us!

Asian Coleslaw with a Peanut-Lime Dressing
Adapted From: Center Cut Cook

Ingredients

• 1/2 head Napa cabbage, shredded
• 1/2 head red cabbage, shredded
• 2 carrots, julienned and then copped into 2 inch pieces
• 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into 2 inch pieces
• 1 sm can water chestnuts, sliced
• 1 cucumber, julienned and then chopped into 2 inch pieces
• 2 green onions, sliced into 2 inch strips
• 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
• 1/3 c peanuts, roughly chopped
• 1 Tbsp natural, creamy peanut butter
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp Sambal Oelek
• 1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions

• Combine the cabbage, carrots, pepper, water chestnuts, cucumber, green onions and most of the cilantro. Chill in fridge for at least an hour.
• In a bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, vegetable oil, Sambal, hoisin, lime juice, ginger and garlic. Tip: I used the whisk attachment on my handheld immersion blender. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. 
• When ready to serve, quickly whisk the dressing before pouring it over the salad. Toss well, and then top with the remaining cilantro and peanuts. 

Korean Pulled Pork Tacos with a Creamy Sriracha Slaw

This meal combines so many great flavors and textures - tender pulled pork slow cooked in sweet and salty ingredients. A crunchy slaw tossed in a creamy, spicy dressing with bright cilantro. A sticky, sweet and salty sauce to pull it together, and all wrapped in a soft corn tortilla.

As soon as I took my first bite I was in love. These tacos really do have everything. And once I was done eating I couldn't wait for the next night to have leftovers.

 It's a super easy dish to pull together since the pork cooks all day in your slow cooker. I bought a bag of broccoli slaw and tossed it with a homemade sriracha mayo at the last minute. And the sticky sauce can be made ahead of time and then warmed up when you are ready to eat. It doesn't get any easier!

Do yourself a favor and put these on your menu now!

Korean Pulled Pork Tacos with a Creamy Sriracha Slaw
Loosely adapted from: Eating Richly

Pork Ingredients

• 2 lb pork - I actually prefer to use a pork loin for pulled pork instead of a fatty shoulder or butt.
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 yellow onion thickly sliced
• 2/3 c Hoisin sauce
• 1/2 c soy sauce
• 1/2 c water
• 1/4 c mirin
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 4 cloves garlic, minced

All other ingredients

• 1/2 bag broccoli slaw (mixture of broccoli, carrots, green and red cabbage)
• 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp Sriracha sauce
• Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
• Lime slices
• Optional: picked radishes or pickled red onions
• Corn tortillas

Directions

• Prep and cook the pork: Mix the hoison, soy sauce, water, mirin, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, ginger and garlic. Place onions in the bottom of your crock pot. Season the pork with salt and pepper and place on top of the onions. Pour half of your cooking liquid all around the pork, reserving the rest of the liquid. Cook on high for 2 hours and turn to low for 4-5 hours. Flip the pork halfway through cooking. Shred with 2 forks. 
• Pour the rest of the cooking liquid into a small sauce pan. Heat over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring often, reducing it to a sticky sauce. Store in the fridge until ready to eat. Reheat slowly on the stove before serving.
• Mix the mayo and sriracha. Toss with the slaw. 
• Soften your corn tortillas by placing them in a hot, nonstick pan for 30 seconds per side.
• Layer your taco with the pork, sticky sauce, slaw, cilantro, and lime juice.