Fresh Cabbage and Edamame Salad with Peanut Dressing

This salad has undergone several transformations since its inception, but this is the latest version.  There are two things I really enjoy about making this dish.  1. It solves the question of what to do with the head of cabbage that's been staring you down from the crisper.  2. It is extremely versatile, so vegetable substitutions are encouraged.  I love recipes that make it easy to play with ingredients.  In the past I have used pea shoots, alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts, shredded carrots, scallions, and tofu as alternatives in this salad.  This time around I used the watercress, red onion, and whole carrots I had in the fridge.  

For the dressing, I either make my own, if I have peanut butter on hand, or I use Trader Joe's Thai Peanut dressing.  


What to gather:

For the salad

1/2 head of green cabbage
1 carrot
1/2 bunch watercress (about 1 cup chopped) or 1 cup sprouts
1/2 red onion and/or 6 scallion, chopped
1/2 cucumber
1 cup edamame or firm tofu, diced
2 tbsp sesame seeds

For the dressing

4 tbsp peanut butter, room temperature
6 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
salt and sriracha or asian chili paste to taste

Tips:

• When preparing a big salad, I like placing all the ingredients in a large tupperware bowl.  When it's time to toss the salad, put the cover on and shake it up!  Transfer to a nice dish to serve.  
• Because cabbage is so tough, it helps to make this dish several hours or a day in advance.  The salt in the dressing draws out some of the moisture in the cabbage, making it a little bit softer.

 What to do:


Cut the cabbage in half and remove the stem by cutting it out in a V shape.  Halve the piece that you are using for the salad.  Slice in the opposite direction, like so.  Rinse thoroughly in colander.  Place in bowl.

Cut the end off of the carrot and, using a vegetable peeler, remove the outer layer of the carrot.  Use the peeler to shave the carrot into thin, wide strips.  Add to bowl.

Quarter the cucumber and cut into thin long strips.  Add the onion, edamame, cucumber, watercress and sesame seeds to the bowl.

For dressing:
Combine peanut butter and sesame oil.  Whisk together until homogeneous and smooth.  Add vinegar, salt and sriracha.  Whisk until blended.  Pour desired amount of dressing over salad and toss to coat.
Serve and enjoy!