Asian slaw

We made this twice in two weeks, which is generally a good indication of a pretty awesome recipe. It's nice and light and slightly spicy. The leftovers are particularly good with cold steak, if you happen to have some in the fridge. We did make a trip to the Japanese grocery store for the daikon, but everything else should be easily found at your usual place.

{slaw}

Asian slaw (original recipe from here, serves 6 if it has a starring role in your meal, 8 - 10 if it's part of a bigger spread)

6 cups thinly sliced savoy cabbage (or napa cabbage - I actually prefer napa)
1 cup coarsely grated peeled carrots
1 cup coarsely grated peeled daikon radish
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 2x1/3-inch strips (we cut ours smaller)
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 green onions, sliced
7 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 serrano chiles, seeded, minced

:: If you have a mandoline (I have this simple one and it works perfectly), this is a great time to bust it out. The julienne blade will make quick work of the carrots and daikon. Everything else is more easily cut by hand.

:: Once you have everything cut, combine the first 7 ingredients in large bowl. If you aren't going to eat the slaw soon, cover the bowl and stick it in the fridge. 

:: Whisk vinegar, sesame oil, vegetable oil, and chiles in medium bowl. Season dressing to taste with salt (I used about 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt, I believe) and pepper. If you're taking the salad to go, just put all your dressing ingredients in a glass jar and shake it up when you get there.

:: Drizzle dressing over salad and toss to coat evenly. Don't use all the dressing right away! The first time we made this, we used all the dressing and it was perfect. The second time we used all the dressing and it ended up a bit overdressed. I would recommend starting out with half the dressing and then adding more to taste. 

If you've never used daikon or napa cabbage before, you might want to do a quick image search so that you know what to look for when you get to the store. Daikon doesn't look like your usual radishes and it has a very different flavor so you wouldn't want to substitute.