Peanuttified Coleslaw

On Sunday, I busted out the recipe for the Nappa Cabbage Salad with Peanut Dressing that I'd been eyeing in the Vegetarian Times--I knew I was gonna have to try it already after having seen it mentioned again on Two Vegan Sisters last week.

When I got to the grocery store, however, I realized I was feeling utterly lazy--so when it came down to the choice of either buying a head of napa cabbage (which the recipe called for) and the already pre-shredded bag o' various types of random cabbage (aka, instant coleslaw shreds), I opted for the latter. When I got home, I realized as well that I only had seasoned rice vinegar (which is SWEETENED rice vinegar), so I ended up making some adjustments to the quantity of brown rice syrup so that it wouldn't end up being overly sweet. I also only had regular sesame oil rather than toasted, regular soy sauce instead of low-sodium, and crunchy peanut butter instead of smooth, so I decided to suck it up and make do. I also realized I only had powdered ginger and didn't feel like running back out to get the fresh stuff.

Needless to say, the recipe ended up a wee bit different than the original, but after all was said and done, I really really liked it nonetheless. Granted, the original recipe could very well be leaps and bounds better than my version. But then again, my version was cheaper and lazier. And ain't nothing better than that.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 T. chunky natural peanut butter


• 3 T. seasoned rice vinegar


• 1 T. soy sauce


• 1 t. brown rice syrup


• 2 t. water


• 1 T. sesame oil


• 1/2 t. powdered ginger


• A few dashes red pepper flakes


• 4 c. shredded cabbage/coleslaw mix (I used from the prepackaged coleslaw bags)


• 1 sm. red pepper, sliced


• 1 handful of slivered carrots (also bought in a bag)


• 3 green onions, sliced

DIRECTIONS

To make Dressing: Whisk together all ingredients in bowl.
To make Salad: Toss all ingredients with dressing in serving bowl.

* * * *
I am still skeptical about it only having 160 or so calories per serving, but if that IS the case, all the more power to them.

{{For some reason writing about this peanutty coleslaw got that old Kriss Kross song "Jump Jump" stuck in my head. I don't even WANNA attempt to figure out why.}}

"Daddy Mac'll make you... JUMP JUMP!
Kriss Kross'll make you... JUMP JUMP!"

(Adapted from The Vegetarian Times)