Best Thai Chinese Cabbage Salad Recipes

Thai Chinese-Cabbage Salad image

Yield Serves 8 as a side dish

Number Of Ingredients 9

1 head Napa cabbage (also called Chinese cabbage)
1 tablespoon coarse salt
2 small fresh red or green Thai* or fresh jalapeño chiles
1 stalk fresh lemongrass*
1 large garlic clove
1 shallot
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce* (preferably naam pla)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
*available at Asian markets and some specialty foods shops and supermarkets.

Steps:

Discard outer leaves from cabbage. Quarter cabbage and core. Cut quarters crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Wash cabbage well in a large bowl of cold water and spin dry. In a large glass or stainless-steel bowl toss together cabbage and salt until salt is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Transfer cabbage to a colander set over a bowl. Drain cabbage 1 hour. Rinse cabbage well and squeeze in small handfuls until as dry as possible. While cabbage is draining, wearing rubber gloves, seed and mince chiles. Discard outer leaves of lemongrass and trim root end. Separately mince garlic, shallot, and lower 2 inches of lemongrass.
In a large bowl toss together cabbage, chiles, lemongrass, garlic, shallot, fish sauce, and lime juice. Salad may be made 2 hours ahead and chilled, covered. Serve salad at cool room temperature.

Thai Chinese Cabbage Salad image

Provided by James Peterson

Yield Makes 8 side-dish servings

Number Of Ingredients 8

1 napa or other Chinese cabbage (about 3 pounds)
1 tablespoon coarse salt, preferably sea salt
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 small Thai chiles or 2 jalapeño chiles
a 2-inch-length lemongrass, minced (optional)
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Steps:

Trim off any tough or wilted outer leaves from the cabbage and cut the cabbage lengthwise into quarters. Cut out and discard any section of stem in the center of each of the quarters. Cut the quarters crosswise into 1/4-inch shreds.
In a glass or stainless steel mixing bowl, rub the cabbage with the salt until all the salt dissolves and you can no longer feel it under your fingers, about 5 minutes. Put the cabbage in a colander set over a bowl to drain for about an hour. Rinse the cabbage with cold water and squeeze the cabbage in small clumps to get rid of the extra water. Toss the drained and squeezed cabbage with the rest of the ingredients in a stainless steel or glass mixing bowl. Chill slighty in the refrigerator.