Slaw for Slaw Haters, or, Learning to Love Things Without Mayonnaise So We Don’t All Die

Let me start by saying that we probably wouldn’t actually die of food poisoning even if I loaded everything we ate all summer with homemade mayonnaise. We have multiple people under this roof who are ServSafe certified and I’m confident that the accumulated amount of knowledge would keep us all safe from preventable food-borne illnesses. And even though I’ve discovered the myriad delights of garlic aioli, I can and will control myself and make nice virtuous salads with vinegary dressings, especially since I treated myself to this gorgeous julienne slicer. I basically want to shred carrots into everything these days.

How lucky for me that the Lee Brothers have a recipe for a carrot slaw that will satisfy even the most ardent cabbage hater (looking at you, Pam!). This is because it doesn’t actually contain cabbage but rather, crunchy water – er, iceberg lettuce, which serves a cabbage-y function without the distinctive (or any) flavor that CERTAIN PEOPLE find off-putting even though I’ve explained a hundred times that my coleslaw is Actually Famous in some circles and they may find it delicious. This was super tasty on its own; I’d put it on the side of any Asian meal, particularly something fried or having a rich sauce, so the crunchy veg and acidity of the dressing offset the heaviness. It was also delicious tucked into bundles of lettuce with our rip-off version of PF Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps. I’d put it on any kind of wrap sandwich, a burger, next to ribs – anywhere you want a light side that allows you to justify whatever excesses are contained in the rest of the meal.

My only complaint about this salad is that as written, the dressing is a colossal pain in the ass to make. Even I don’t want to peel and grate fresh ginger and squeeze the pulp in a cheesecloth to extract a ludicrously tiny amount of ginger juice. I mean, I did, but I’m not going to do it that way again and I recommend you don’t either. Option 1: buy one of those little thimbles of ginger juice at your local bougie grocery store. Option 2: use pre-grated ginger paste, which won’t mess with the texture but still adds the required pow. Pro Tip #2: Don’t use your small food processor, because this is just a little bit too much and it could (potentially) make a large and annoying mess when it oozes out from under the lid while your back is theoretically turned for literally 15 seconds.

Adapted slightly from Simple Fresh Southern: Knock-OutDishes with Down-Home Flavor by Matt Lee and Ted Lee, my go-to inspiration for bougie hot-weather cooking.

Snow Pea and Carrot Salad with Ginger Dressing

2 large handfuls of snow peas, blanched and roughly chopped
4-5 medium carrots (about 8 oz.), julienned with your excellent new julienne peeler or shredded on a box grater
1 head iceberg lettuce, sliced into very thin ribbons (Napa cabbage would be good here too, Pam)
1 tsp kosher salt
2-3 Tbsp ginger paste, or 2 Tbsp ginger juice (if you’re feeling hardcore, see Pro Tip #2 for the hard way to do this. It takes roughly 4-6 inches of ginger root to get this much liquid)
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped into chunks
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

Combine all the vegetables in a large bowl and toss with ½ teaspoon of the salt.

To make the dressing, put all the other ingredients into the bowl of a food processor (you could use a blender) and process until the dressing is smooth. Pour the dressing over the vegetables, toss thoroughly, and salt to taste.