Vietnamese Spicy Cabbage salad (Raw vegetables)

This colorful, crunchy, tangy and spicy cabbage salad just fills you up. The salad is so refreshing as it cools you in this heat of Summer that I usually like to have 2 huge bowls of salad in the evenings. It is more like a slaw but without the calorie rich salad dressing. I love to pair it with grilled food, particularly one shredded chicken breast or a grilled fish fillet or sometimes with a couple of boiled egg whites for supper. The salad's chili kick and sweet tangy savory side provide wonderful flavor contrasts. I had it at my friend's place who is an expert in Vietnamese-style cooking and decided to include it in my list of recipe collection.

Dressing:

1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup of fresh lime juice
2 or 3 short Indian green chilies, chopped or 2 large green horn peppers chopped fine.
1 clove garlic, chopped. (optional---you gotta brush your teeth :-) later ! )

**Watch it on the chilies. The mortar and pestle pounding releases all the oils and the dressing can be fiery -- enough to make you sweat a bit or feel overheated.

Using a mortar and pestle, mash the chili, garlic, ½ teaspoon sugar, and 1 pinch salt together into a fragrant greenish paste. (Use a sweeping motion at first to crush the ingredients and then pound.) This releases and combines the oils from the chili and garlic. Scrape the paste into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients of fresh lime juice. Slowly, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt in the paste and to combine well. Taste and alter the level of heat or if needed add more lime juice to create a spicy, tart, savory, lightly garlicky dressing. Mix well.

Ingredients for the salad:

1. 1/2 head green cabbage, about 1 pound or 4 cups of thinly sliced cabbage-
quartered through the stem end, cored, and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide ribbons.

2. 1/2 a cup of shredded red cabbage (or just pick the prepacked, ready-to-eat, shredded ones from the salad section at the supermarket).

3. 1 large carrot, peeled and finely shredded.

4. 2 small radishes shredded

5. 1 English Cucumber, peeled skin & diced.

6. 1/2 a cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, or mint leaves

7. 1/4 cup coarsely chopped unsalted roasted peanuts (optional- for garnish & a little bit of good fat) or you could add a teaspoon of Udo's oil or flax seed oil on top of the salad instead of the peanuts.

Method:

1. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrot, radish, cucumber chopped herbs of your choice- either cilantro or mint leaves. Toss to combine and distribute the ingredients well. Chill it for half hour, if you like.

2. Just before serving, pour the lime dressing over the salad and toss to mix well. The salad will wilt slightly. Taste and adjust the flavors to your liking, balancing the sour, sweet, salty, and spicy.

3. Transfer to a serving plate, leaving any unabsorbed dressing behind. Garnish with the unsalted, roasted chopped peanuts or drizzle a teaspoon of Udo's or Flax seed oil and serve with your choice of protein. Enjoy !

**I skipped these ingredients for the dressing used in the original recipe from my friend, such as:
3 tablespoon of Fish sauce
6 tablespoons of rice Vinegar ( **I replaced it with fresh lime juice)
3 tablesppons of sugar (**just used 1/2 teaspoon of sugar for little bit of sweetness...you could instead use Artificial sweetner, though I do not know the long term effects of using Splenda or other sweetner)