Oh yes, this salad is a rainbow of yum- crunchy, zingy, and super satisfying. There are times when I look in my fridge and think I have nothing and it’s like this separate section of my brain chimes in and goes, but wait, you have cabbage, you have leftover roast chicken, you have sesame seeds and carrots, you have yourself an epic Korean style salad! Have I ever told you how much I love kimchi? It seriously is one of my favourite fermented foods, the delightful umami flavour is hard to compare to anything else. You can buy it at most asian markets and health food stores and if you haven’t tried it I urge you to give it a go. Making it from scratch is a little more involved than a basic ferment like sauerkraut but well worth it! I have a recipe for making your own kimchi here, check it out.
I’m not going to lie…the cabbage you see has been waiting to be used for some time now. Thankfully cabbage lasts a long time, because I tend to use it sparingly. Then there are times when the satisfying crunchy nature of cabbage is the only thing that will do. I like to break it down yo’ by really getting in there and massaging the dressing into it, along with the kimchi, this helps make it easier to digest and really helps the umami flavours work their magic.
- 2 C cooked chicken torn into bite size pieces (I used leftover roast chicken)
- 4 C purple cabbage, shredded
- 4 C napa cabbage, shredded
- 3 medium size carrots, grated
- ½ C kimchi
- 2 Tbs sesame seeds (preferably toasted)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
- 1 small chile, deseeded and finely chopped, OR 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp lime juice
- ½ tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp tamari or coconut aminos
- 1 Tbs rice wine vinegar
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp coconut sugar or honey
- 1 green onion stalk, finely chopped
- 2 eggs, fried to your preference (optional)
- Combine cabbages, carrot,kimchi and sesame seeds in a large bowl and set aside.
- Mix together garlic, ginger, chile, lime juice, fish sauce, tamari, rice wine vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil and sugar, whisk together until well slightly emulsified (you could also do this in a blender)
- Add half the dressing to cabbage and massage it in with your hands until cabbage starts to soften.
- Fry your eggs and warm up your chicken in a frying pan with some of the leftover dressing.
- Top with chicken, a fried egg, green onion and a generous drizzle of dressing.
