Asian Slaw or Bok Choi Salad {Vegan & Gluten Free}

This no-mayo Asian slaw will become a frequent favourite: a delicious healthy take on the classic slaw, it’s a crunchy pak choi salad with flavours of soy sauce and sesame. Serve as a side, or as a healthy lighter alternative to rice or noodles with a takeaway. Vegan and Gluten Free.

About this Asian-Style Coleslaw Recipe

  This pak choi (bok choy) salad is a crunchy, healthy salad with a fresh and zesty dressing. It’s a perfect twist on the classic mayonnaise-heavy coleslaw, and so easy to make at home.

When it comes to my diet and eating well, I have one simple mantra:-

Eat a generous portion of (raw) vegetables with every meal whenever you can!

This Asian slaw fits the bill perfectly. You will love this slaw because

• It is cheaper to make than a fresh green salad – cabbage costs less than lettuce!
• The ingredients keep for longer than green salad leaves, which wilt as soon as you get them home
• The recipe is adaptable. Swap the ingredients, change the ratios – anything goes
• Finely chopping is such an easy way to make it easy to eat several portions of leafy greens
• A raw vegetable dish takes longer to eat, so you feel fuller and more satisfied for longer
• This bok choy salad is both vegan and gluten free
• With lime, ginger and chilli, it is bursting with flavour
• There is plenty of texture from the crunchy vegetables and the sesame seeds
• It is ideal to serve with a takeaway instead of rice or noodles.

Pak Choi Salad or Bok Choy Salad?

Both! What’s called pak choi in the UK is known as bok choy in the USA, but they’re the same thing – a variety of Chinese cabbage. According to the BBC, alternative names include Chinese celery cabbage, white mustard cabbage and horse’s ear!

Hispi cabbage is also known as pointed or sweetheart cabbage, but you can use any type of cabbage in this recipe. 

Can I Make Asian Coleslaw Ahead Of Time?

It is fine to prepare this Asian Slaw ahead of time, but only assemble and dress the salad when you are ready to eat it. The dressing is good for a day in a jam jar in the fridge – just give it a good shake before using. The cabbage and carrot will remain crisp in a covered bowl in the fridge for half a day.

If you’re using fresh coriander (cilantro) from a packet, it’s best to take it out at the last minute, as I find it wilts really quickly.

How do I make Asian slaw?

Asian coleslaw is so quick and easy to make:

First wash the vegetables: hispi cabbage, pak choi (bok choy), carrot, chilli, spring onion and coriander leaves.

Second, grate the carrot, and shred the rest of the vegetables. Depending on your tolerance to heat you can keep or discard the chilli seeds and membranes.

Third make the dressing by whisking together all the ingredients except for the sesame seeds. 

To get more juice out of a lime give it a good roll on the counter top under the heel of your hand for about 10 seconds.  Apply a good amount of pressure, but don’t completely squash it. 

Fourth, dress the salad. When you use leafy greens in salads, you need to massage in the dressing to really coat and tenderize them.

Get your hand in there and give it a really good squeeze! Trust me – it does make a difference. Send those veggies for a good old spa treatment! 

Finally, sprinkle over the sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Hints, Tips & Variations

• Keep fresh ginger in a tub in the freezer and grate it from frozen.
• When juicing citrus fruit, roll them on the worktop under the heel of your hand for a few seconds – you will extract FAR more juice.
• Tamari is gluten free but ordinary soy sauce contains wheat – either works well if you don’t have allergies to think about. 
• I like to use a mix of red and green chilli and black and white sesame seeds for visual effect.
• If you don’t have pak choi or hispi cabbage, any crunchy cabbage or leafy green in season will do instead. A lot of the flavour comes from the dressing, so you won’t lose out. Try using regular green cabbage or Chinese broccoli. We are not keen on raw onion but if you love it, slice one up and throw it in!

How Do I Serve Asian Slaw?

• As is, as a side salad.
• With a takeaway instead of rice or noodles
• In tacos
• As a topping in burgers
• With seared fish or pulled pork

For more fabulous fresh slaw inspiration you may like my asparagus salad recipe, or my rice noodle salad.

Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in March 2018, but was rewritten and republished with step by step instructions and hints & tips in August 2019.