South African Purple Cabbage Coleslaw – Great For A Crowd
Raise your hand if you knew that purple cabbage is one of the healthiest veggies you can eat. I didn’t know until a few years ago, which is when I happily switched from light and bright green coleslaw to the dark side: purple cabbage coleslaw.
Just kidding about the dark side.
Don’t assume that because the color is more outrageous and exciting that the taste is going to be too crazy for traditional coleslaw. Taste-wise, I can barely tell a difference between the two – purple adds a tiny bit more peppery bitterness, but the South African touch of adding raisins adds sweetness to balance it out.
Especially once carrots and a yummy mayo dressing are in the mix, too.
Purple Cabbage Coleslaw Ingredients
Pretty much all the same as regular coleslaw, for purple cabbage coleslaw you will need:
- Purple cabbage: Believe it or not, you can disregard the main ingredient of this recipe and use green cabbage if you prefer. Won’t make much difference. To make life easier, I definitely opt for pre-shredded on this one.
- Carrots: You can buy shredded cabbage, and if it comes with shredded carrots then great. BUT. If it doesn’t… I recommend grating a few yourself. It just adds some nice freshness and seems to make a bigger difference than cabbage.
- Mayonaise: My mom uses vegan, I opt for a whole food regular type (I like the Chosen brand). Any mayo you enjoy should be fine.
- Apple cider vinegar: Red wine vinegar works, too, if you don’t have apple cider. You could get away with most vinegar options except balsamic. Do not use balsamic.
- Mustard: Totally optional. On the day you make it, mustard will seem to add too much of a bite. But if you make it a day in advance, the flavors have time to marry in the fridge and the mustard greatly mellows out and adds a little depth.
- Sugar: You can keep it more whole by using honey or coconut sugar, but cane sugar works fine, too.
- Raisins: Add as many or as few as you like. This is the real South African touch!
How To Make Purple Cabbage Coleslaw
Optional: Salt The Cabbage
To prevent coleslaw from getting mushy, you can salt it before making to remove excess water (so it doesn’t seep out later). I don’t find this step super necessary with pre-shredded cabbage, but if you’re shredding yourself it doesn’t hurt.
Chop cabbage and add it to a bowl. Mix in salt and let sit for about an hour. Put the cabbage in a strainer and rinse off the water, then squeeze and pat dry.
Store in the fridge in an airtight container for about 5 days.
South African Summer
In America we barbecue, in South Africa we braai. Try these sosaties (lamb kebabs) at your next bash to make it a memorable one. They are absolutely delish with this purple cabbage coelslaw.
Purple Cabbage Coleslaw
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp yellw mustard optional, leave out if you're making day of
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup mayo use a little less if desired, like 1/3 cup
- 8oz bag shredded purple cabbage
- 2 big carrots about 2 cups shredded
- 1/2 cup raisins
Instructions
- Add apple cider vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper to a large bowl (your serving/storage bowl) and whisk. Add in mayo and mix well until combined. (Or just add mayo at the beginning too, coleslaw is art not science.)
- Shred the carrots with a cheese grater.
- Add the cabbage and carrots to the dressing and mix until everything is coated and well-combined.
- Mix in raisins last.
- Store in the fridge up to 5 days.
