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This sweet sesame cabbage salad is a mixture of shredded green cabbage, scallions, and toasted slivered almonds, tossed in a sweet sesame dressing, with loads of sesame seeds.
This salad borrows from Japanese “addictive cabbage”, which is a fitting name, because it’s addictingly good.
Sesame Cabbage Salad Ingredients
- Green cabbage: I’ve made this salad with red cabbage, napa cabbage, and a few other varieties; they all work well. Green cabbage definitely works/ tastes the best.
- Scallions
- Cilantro
- Sesame oil: Not toasted, just regular sesame oil.
- Soy sauce
- Honey: If you’re vegan, agave would work well as a substitute.
- Lemon juice
- Garlic clove
- White pepper
- Slivered almonds: Feel free to swap these out for toasted cashews or peanuts – just give them a rough chop before adding them to the salad.
- Toasted sesame seeds and black sesame seeds: I like using a mix of both white and black sesame seeds – the aesthetics of the salad look better with both.
Method Behind this Cabbage Salad
Quarter the cabbage into wedges and remove the core. Using a mandoline or knife, shred the cabbage (fairly thin) and add to a large mixing bowl. It looks like a lot of cabbage, but it’ll lose a lot of volume once it’s tossed in the dressing. Finely slice the scallions on a bias, finely slice the cilantro, and add to the bowl of cabbage.
Whisk the sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, lemon juice, garlic, and white pepper in a small bowl or jar, and pour over the cabbage salad. Sprinkle over the slivered almonds and sesame seeds and toss to combine. Adjust for salt as needed – I always add salt, but depending on the soy sauce you use, you may not need to.
Serve this salad immediately with extra sesame seeds for garnish.
A Single Note
- The moment you dress this salad, the cabbage will start to release water. I say this because it doesn’t save well – it starts to lose its crunch after an hour. That said, highly recommend dressing this and serving it immediately before you’ll be eating. I have experimented with keeping this in the fridge for 12 hours – the flavor is still fantastic, but it’s not as crunchy and fresh.
So excited for you to make this! Don’t forget to leave a starred rating and review, love hearing your feedback.
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Sesame Cabbage Salad
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2–3 servings 1x
- Category: Mains, Salads, Side Dish
- Cuisine: Japanese
Description
A sweet sesame cabbage salad with loads of scallions and toasted almonds that borrows from Japanese “addictive cabbage”, which is a fitting name, because it’s addictingly good.
Ingredients
- 1/2 head cabbage, shredded (280g)
- 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced on a bias (35g)
- 2 tbsp finely sliced cilantro (chiffonade)
- 2 tbsp (16g) sesame oil
- 2 tbsp (16g) soy sauce
- 2 tbsp (30g) honey
- 2 tbsp (24g) lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 cup (60g) slivered almonds, toasted (can sub w/ toasted peanuts/cashews)
- 2 tbsp (12g) toasted sesame seeds/ black sesame seeds
Instructions
- Shred the cabbage, scallions, and cilantro. Quarter the cabbage into wedges and remove the core. Using a mandoline or knife, shred the cabbage (fairly thin) and add to a large mixing bowl. It looks like a lot of cabbage, but it’ll lose a lot of volume once it’s tossed in the dressing. Finely slice the scallions on a bias, finely slice the cilantro, and add to the bowl of cabbage.
- Make the dressing and toss the salad. Whisk the sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, lemon juice, garlic, and white pepper in a small bowl or jar, and pour over the cabbage salad. Sprinkle over the slivered almonds and sesame seeds and toss to combine. Adjust for salt as needed – I always add salt, but depending on the soy sauce you use, you may not need to.
- Serve this salad immediately with extra sesame seeds for garnish.
Can confirm it’s delightful!
Having the cabbage super finely shredded is key.
I had mine with cold grilled lemon chicken breast for lunch and I will definitely be keeping this in the rotation!
Yaay! So happy to hear that you liked it, thank you so much for the kind review ☺️
Have you tried keeping the salad base and the dressing separate and then dressing it just before eating? Or does the cabbage brown? – Just thinking about bringing this to a work potluck but wouldn’t have time to make it in the morning.
Yes, I’ve been doing this a lot, and the cabbage stays perfect! I keep it in a Ziploc/glass container in the fridge. Hope everyone loves it – will need a report back ☺️