Thai-style coleslaw

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 800 g cabbage (original cabbage), pointed cabbage or white cabbage
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp fish sauce, e.g. Nam Pla, alternatively 1-2 tsp salt
• 40 ml lemon juice
• 1 chili pepper(s), hot
• 1 tsp, heaped ginger, freshly chopped
• 1 bunch coriander, fresh
• 2 tsp, leveled sesame oil
• e.g. peanuts

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 45 minutes

Som Tam tastes ideal with fried chicken, Thai dishes, but also with German meatballs.

Remove the old cabbage leaves from the outside, halve or quarter the cabbage, finely chop, and place in a large salad bowl. Add the sugar and three tablespoons of nam pla. If you don’t like the slightly fishy taste of nam pla, you can also use one or two teaspoons of salt, but this will make it taste less “authentic.” Now mix everything well so that the sugar can draw the juices from the cabbage. While the cabbage draws juice, prepare the other ingredients and add them. Peel the fresh ginger, first into thin slices, then cut into strips, and then finely dice. Then add about a slightly heaped teaspoon to the cabbage. Deseed one chili pepper or, depending on how hot you like it, half a chili pepper, also dice it, and add it. Wash the cilantro, trim off the bottom of the stalks, but finely chop the rest, including the stalks, and add it to the cabbage. In the meantime, the cabbage should have drawn some of its juices, or in the case of pointed cabbage, even shrunk slightly. Now add the lemon juice and oil and mix everything thoroughly several times. Depending on the cabbage, let it simmer for between 15 minutes and two hours, stirring occasionally. Before serving, season again with nam pla/salt, sugar, lemon, or fruit vinegar if desired. If you want it to be even spicier, you can add more chili. If you like, you can sprinkle the salad with roughly chopped peanuts before serving. Note: This coleslaw is not available in Thailand, as green papaya or green mango are more common there. However, it does offer the typical fruity-spicy aroma with the exotic touch of coriander and ginger from the original recipes, but at a lower price and with easier-to-find ingredients. Fresh coriander is most important; dried coriander or coriander powder will not work for this dish. The chili can also be dried in a pinch.