Nigerian Coleslaw

If you ask a Nigerian for salad you will highly likely get a bowl of coleslaw. But who can blame anybody? Coleslaw really is a party on a plate.  It’s a dish that will definitely be gracing my tropical Christmas dinner table this year. Most times when being offered a salad in Nigeria, a version of coleslaw drenched in salad cream is what you’ll get. In this version however, I decided to make this salad a centerpiece of sorts. Bringing flavour, colour and texture together on one plate as a celebration of all things fresh.

Watch me make this dish on YouTube

There is spice and a little heat in a Nigerian coleslaw

The spicy peanut butter dressing is a take on ose oji, a spicy sauce eaten in combination with African garden eggs by people of the Igbo tribe in Eastern Nigeria.  The dressing really brings this Nigerian celebration coleslaw together. The heat from this dressing just give the entire dish that extra kick. And well, Nigerians love their pepper, so I had to add it to this dish in some way. The flavours combine well together, and served with a few slices of lime, that lime juice is the icing on the cake really.

No fancy equipment required for this salad

We can all agree that during the holidays we want to do a lot more enjoying time with loved ones that battling with fancy kitchen equipment. This coleslaw delivers in that department. All that’s needed is a few bowls, fork or whisk, a chopping board, and a sharp knife and great knife skills or mandoline if you want to be extra. That’s it. Recipes like this just make life so much easier.

Plant-based food can never be boring

Plant-based food can never be boring, especially not at Christmas time. This coleslaw is really a great example of how and why plant-based food can never be boring. Only the way we cook food can get really boring. Combining ingredients, flavours, adding textures, height, visual appeal and elements of surprise (that lime juice!) make this such an exciting dish to serve up to family and friends.

As with all other recipes on this platform you will find that this celebration coleslaw recipe is;

• Plant-based
• Vegan
• Gluten free
• Dairy free
• Soy free
• Egg-free
• Refined sugar-free
• Easy to make
• Uses simple ingredients
• Doesn’t require any special equipment

If you try out this recipe definitely let me know by tagging #PFFPlate on social media. It would be great to see all your interpretations of this recipe. You can also play around the the ingredients to make it your own. If you have a nut allergy, you can take the peanut butter out of the dressing and reduce the coconut aminos and lemon juice by half.

Print Recipe

Nigerian Celebration Coleslaw

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 5 Minutes 5 Minutes Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

Coleslaw

½ small red cabbage

½ medium green cabbage

1 medium carrot

1 medium purple onion

½ red bell pepper

½ yellow bell pepper

small bunch cilantro (coriander)

1 red Thai chilli pepper (optional)

1 medium apple

2-3  dates

 

Garnish

½ tsp white and/or black sesame seeds 

1 tbsp peanuts

1 lime wedge (optional)

2 tbsp peanuts

 

Peanut Butter Dressing

¼ cup peanut butter

2 tbsp coconut aminos (or tamari if you tolerate soy_

3 tbsp lime juice (or lemon juice)

½ tbsp grated ginger

2 tsp  coconut nectar (or sweetener of choice)

½ tsp sesame oil

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

Coleslaw

• Slice the onion and soak them in vinegar for at least 5 minutes
• Carrot, cut into thin matchsticks with a mandolin or sharp knife
• Slice the red and yellow bell peppers, and apple, shred the red and green cabbage, slice the dates
  chop the cilantro (coriander) and peanuts
• Combine vegetables with a few tablespoons of the peanut butter dressing, sprinkle the peanuts, sesame seeds and more cilantro over the top and serve with wedges of lime

Peanut Butter Dressing

• Place all the ingredients in a blow and whisk together until smooth