Sunday, March 15, 2009

Asian Carrot Slaw

This Asian carrot slaw makes use of beautiful winter carrots that comes in all colors. Although with this light fresh flavors, it will remind you that spring is on its way.
I know I should give you quantities. But I don't measure too often and I believe the best way is to taste, 1. you will develop your palette 2. you can fine tune it to your likes and dislikes.

ASIAN CARROT SLAW
1 bunch assorted carrots cut thinly on a bias
1/2 a head of cabbage, thinly shredded
1 large red bell pepper in a small julienne
4-5 scallions thinly sliced on a bias
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves and stems (yes you can eat the stems!!) finely chopped and some wgole for garnish

To make the vinaigrette, combine:
You want to taste to have a balance of sour, sweet and spicy:

Rice wine vinegar
Sugar (or use agave or honey)
Sesame oil (just a few drops)
Peanut oil
Salt
Sambal (hot sauce)
Sesame seeds
Grated ginger

I served this slaw with a miso marinated piece of halibut. It was delicious.

You might not know this, but I am highly interested in all issues pertaining to food, especially how our food is produced in America. I try to be open minded about new ways to create sustainability. I thought this article "Spoiled: Organic and Local is so 2008" was well researched, and yet controversial. Not everything I agree with. But I do think the ideas addressed in the piece are compelling: 1. We need to take action now, not later, now 2. And we might want to look at sustainability from all angles, to food miles, pesticides, feeding everyone, cost and so forth. Let me know your thoughts.

17 comments:

Dewi said...

Uhh I luv this slaw, especially you've added sambal to the dressing. Delicious.
Cheers,
elra

Heather said...

i can never find the red carrots near me. it makes me so sad :( i love rice wine vinegar. this sounds SO, SO, SO good!! i made a carrot and apple slaw with golden raisins and a mustard vinaigrette last year. mmmm. so good. love carrots!

Jessica@Foodmayhem said...

Beautiful presentation!
I agree, we do need to address the issues now. One of the things that really annoys me is that organic food is so much more expensive here than in CA, and also just less available.

Manger La Ville said...

I have to agree with you Jessica. I was shocked and upset coming to New York to find limited amounts of local pesticide free food. I try to support the green market, but it is nothing compared to the markets in CA. The farmers markets are huge. But i have come to realized that the weather is not Californian and I cannot expect the same variety and amount. It is something I have gotten used to and have respected. Although grocery prices are still more expensive. I guess that is what you get living here.

Anonymous said...

I've been thinking that the food movement, like a lot of other things, has hit a plateau and I was waiting for Obama to do something awesome like tear out the great lawn and plant a vegetable garden and instead, he appointed one of the biggest enemies to the local/sustainable food movement to Secretary of Agriculture.

So, I guess we get to be grassroots about it still. And carrot roots and beet roots and turnip roots.

PS - The Green Table at Chelsea Market serves a bunch of baby rainbow carrots as part of their crudite appetizer. Awesome!

grace said...

oooh, pretty! i'm especially fond of the single cilantro leaf garnishing your slaw. great dressing, too.

Anonymous said...

yum! i came across this recipe while searching for a rice wine vinaigrette to complete a dinner last evening! must have been serendipity because i happened to have all the ingredients for the slaw in my fridge! it was delicious as well as utterly stunning to look at with all those bright colors and i will surely be making this again! thanks! (i have since bookmarked your page and look forward to reading your blog!)

Manger La Ville said...

Thanks for your comment. I love hearing that people are enjoying it. And I am glad it turned out well.

Anonymous said...

This dish sounds so delicious, and the presentation is perfect. I am home in Wisconsin now where I can't get such great carrots, or I would have made it already! But when I get back to the city, it will be one of the first meals I make.

Regarding that article you pointed out, I think it is interesting to hear people talking about the movement reaching a plateau, especially when so little has really hit mainstream even after twenty some years of talk about organics.

On the one hand, I think this problem reveals that we as consumers have a lot of factors working against us--like big farmers' interests, giant food processing corporations, scientists in support of biotech, government, etc--in getting what we want on our tables or on the white house lawn.

On the other hand, the article reminded me that there are other, creative options out there for promoting sustainability besides rigid ideas about organic products; that we don't have to have an us vs. them mentality. For example, within the idea of "local," if people simply looked more to regional American cultures and traditions, we might be able to make local, organic, home grown consumption more popular without it having the stigma of an upper-middle class, foodie ideology...

Anyways, thanks for the food for thought!

Manger La Ville said...

Sara, I think your points are right on. I agree with the article that we need to look at different ways. And I agree with you (and disagree with the article) that we have hit a plateau. It might seem that way to people who already care...yet for mainstream America that is not the case. And I too think organic, local food should be affordable. I want whole foods ( produce) to be just as affordable as any fast food chain. Thanks for your input. I know it was a long article to read. And I appreciate hearing your comments, which are always insightful and educated.

test it comm said...

I like the sound of this asian carrot slaw. Nicely presented!

Anonymous said...

Been thinking more about that article you posted, and happened upon this one, called "Eating Food That’s Better for You, Organic or Not." It's by Mark Bittman, and he takes a similar, though much more positive approach to the idea that organic is not necessarily the ultimate answer.

Definitely worth reading!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/weekinreview/22bittman.html?_r=1&ref=dining

Manger La Ville said...

Thank you so much for the article. I am reading it right now.

Anonymous said...

I totally agree - "sustainability"in food is such a complex and sometimes controversial issue. but if we can work toward growing more of our own food, getting to know our local farmers and buying food directly from them, eating (a lot) less processed food and cooking more, then I think we're on the right track to a more sustainable future.

On a lighter note, your carrot salad looks delicious - great photo!

Snooky doodle said...

unteresting recipe. looks so good :)

MrOrph said...

Nice slaw there Abbey. This would pair nicely with so many things.

As for the article, I agree that there needs to be a perspective or paradigm shift with regard to the "sustainability" of food. I mean, c'mon, it's what we eat! There really should not be this premium for non-mass produced foods.

Lori Lynn said...

When I saw the title of your post, I just knew I would love it.

Happy Easter.
LL