While we usually think of cabbage as bland or a part of a heavy spread (St. Patrick’s Day; German cuisine), this vibrant salad proves that cabbage can be bright and even fun. Asian cabbage salad is playful. It’s got crunch and zip and layers of texture from ingredients like red bell peppers, edamame, and almonds. You’ll feel happy after you eat it. It might even make you think about cabbage in an entirely new way.
# Toast the almonds (do NOT walk away as the cook).
# Start by cutting the cabbage heads in half from top to bottom, slicing down through the stem. Remove any brown outer leaves.
# Then, place the cabbage with its flat, cut-side facing against the cutting board. Cut the halves into quarters (slicing down from the top through the stem again). Carefully cut out the core and discard.
# Turn the pieces so a flat side is on the cutting board, and slice them as thinly as possible, working your way across each quarter.
# From there, you can keep the cabbage as is or chop it further. Personally, for my raw cabbage salads, I like to roughly chop it into smaller pieces (pictured above), which I find a little easier to eat.
Iranian Salads: Vegetable Salads
