When we went to an event with the Appalachian Mountains Mini Club, part of the fun was a pot luck meal.  Guests were asked to bring side dishes or desserts to go with the pork barbecue the hosts were serving.  I thought about what to take for days.  I didn’t really know anyone, and had no idea what anyone else was bringing.  I also wanted to have something that was vegetable based and low carbohydrate.  This salad idea came to me, and I made it for the first time to take that day.  This was a bit of a risk but I was pretty confident in the idea. After all, I’ve made coleslaw lots of times, and this is essentially a take off of that idea, with a dressing that I figured out for the Asian Inspired Salad I made in February during my Asian Inspired event.

Prepare broccoli by cutting into small, bite size florets, about 3 cups.  I like using my pretty colander while cooking.  This Butterfly Collander on Amazon is on sale now.

Drop the broccoli into boiling water, lightly salted.

Blanch the broccoli in the boiling water for about 15 seconds. This will soften the stems just a bit, and bring out a vibrant green color.

Drain, and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Compare the color of this broccoli to the unblanched broccoli above, see the difference!  Pat dry with paper towels so the excess water doesn’t thin out the dressing.

Grate the carrot.

Add to the broccoli in the serving dish. Those bright colors look appetizing already, don’t they!

Cut the cabbage into julienne strips. I do this by cutting thin slices across the cabbage, then quartering the strips.

Combine vegetables in a large 9×12 serving dish.

Combine mayonnaise and sriracha sauce.  Toss about 1/3 of the dressing with the vegetables, and store remainder in refrigerator.

At this point, if you are taking the dish to a pot luck, cover and keep cold. My Pyrex Hot and Cold Portable does a great job with this.

At serving time, top with chow mein noodles, and dig in!

Asian Broccoli Cabbage Salad

1 large head broccoli
1/2 head of cabbage
2-3 baby carrots
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
1/3 of a 5 ounce can of chow mein noodles
Prepare broccoli by cutting into small, bite size florets, about 3 cups. Blanch the broccoli in boiling water for about 15 seconds. Drain, and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking, then pat dry with paper towels. Cut the cabbage into julienne strips. Grate the carrot. Combine vegetables in a large serving dish. Combine mayonnaise and sriracha sauce. Toss about 1/3 of the dressing with the vegetables, and store remainder in refrigerator for another use (or add a bit more to the salad to taste). At serving time, top with chow mein noodles. Enjoy!

This recipe will serve about 20 as part of a pot luck.  It makes a 9×12 dish full. Of course, you can use smaller amounts of veggies to suit your own needs, and just use enough dressing to lightly coat the vegetables. Download a free pdf of the recipe – Asian Broccoli Cabbage Salad

So did they enjoy the salad? Lots of crunch and full of flavor, this salad was a hit!

This little bit left over was good the next day too, I just removed the chow mein noodles before storing, and topped it with fresh ones at serving time.  Are you in the mood for a summer salad?