A good slaw mix can get you in and out of the kitchen in a flash. This is my personal favourite Asian slaw mix, topped with crispy Chicken Schnitzel and three amazing sauces, for one outstanding meal.
Napa cabbage, carrot, red pepper, snow peas and purple cabbage are shredded thin and tossed together for a colourful, deeply nutritious mix with plenty of crunch. More importantly, the combination holds up well, which makes it ideal for a week of rapid-fire meals.
Combine this slaw with any protein you like, here we’re using our Crispy Chicken Schnitzel but you can substitute roasted or grilled chicken, salmon, prawns, seared tuna, souvlaki pork or grilled steak if you like. It’s extremely flexible.
The Slaw Mix That Works All Week
Keep the vegetables prepped and ready, then change the supporting cast. Purple cabbage is colour rich, so I always prep and store that separately otherwise it bleeds into everything.
Once our mix is prepped, it’s easy to rapid fire meals. Add leftover chicken, or any protein, and turn it into a fast lunch, pile it into a sandwich or use it as the base for an easy salad. One container of slaw can shift in multiple directions over a wee, and keep you well-nourished and happy.
For our Chicken Schnitzel Slaw, the vegetables stay cold and crisp while the chicken goes on hot. That hot-and-cold contrast is part of what makes the salad so satisfying.
Three Sauces Make This Salad Sing
There are three sauces happening here, and each one brings something different.
Burnt Lemon Brown Sugar Vinaigrette is the sharp, sweet, savoury element. Charring the lemon before squeezing it gives the juice a deeper flavour, while the cooked garlic softens its bite. Brown sugar rounds everything out and gives us that hint of molasses in the undertone while Dijon adds tang and the emulsification we look for and fresh thyme brings a little herbal lift.
Then come Dijonnaise and Sambal Mayo, two creamy mayonnaise based combinations from our 50 Flavours of Mayo collection. Dijonnaise brings a creamy mustard tang; Ancho Mayo brings garlic and a sharp chili warmth.
The trick is not to blend all three sauces into one anonymous dressing. Keep them distinct so you get different hits of flavour throughout the salad.
Building a Better Chicken Salad
Crispy chicken and salad are a natural combination, but the chicken needs to stay crispy.
Rather than chopping the schnitzel into tiny pieces and tossing everything together, slice it into substantial strips and lay it over the slaw. The hot chicken warms the vegetables just slightly while the crunchy breading stays exposed to the air.
That contrast—cold, crunchy slaw against hot, crisp chicken—is what turns a bowl of vegetables into a proper meal.
The whole thing comes together quickly because our vegetable base goes raw, and the sauces can be prepared ahead. Once the chicken is cooked, dinner is essentially assembly.
Why I Love It
I love a recipe that unfolds straight out of my refrigerator and stuns the crowd with flavour and freshsness.
The same colourful slaw mix can carry us through a week of quick dinners, fast lunches and easy salads, and every version can taste completely different depending on what gets added.
Here, crispy chicken schnitzel, our three sauces (including our deeply flavoured burnt lemon vinaigrette) turn a crunchy slaw into a substantial, seriously flavour-forward protein salad. Hot chicken, cold slaw, creamy mayo, hint of chili, sweet brown sugar and charred lemon—all happening in the same bowl.
That’s my kind of salad.
Print
Chicken Schnitzel Slaw
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: serves 4
Description
Crispy chicken schnitzel meets crunchy Asian slaw, Dijonnaise, Sambal Mayo and a burnt lemon brown sugar vinaigrette in this flavour-forward salad with tremendous flexibility.
Ingredients
For the slaw
- 1 cup Napa cabbage, finely shredded
- 1 cup purple cabbage, finely shredded
- 1 cup carrot, julienned or shredded
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 cup snow peas, thinly sliced
- 2 cups hardy greens
- 2 Crispy Chicken Schnitzels, sliced into strips
- Burnt Lemon Brown Sugar Vinaigrette, to taste
- Finish with: sesame seeds, green onion and fresh cilantro
For the Burnt Lemon Brown Sugar Vinaigrette
- 1 lemon
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 cup sunflower or other neutral oil
- Pinch of salt & pepper
For the Dijonnaise
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons flat Dijion mustard
- 1 teaspoon grainy, old fashioned Dijion mustard
For the Sambal Mayo
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 3 teaspoons Samal Oelek, or similar garlic chili sauce
Instructions
- Make the vinaigrette. Cut the lemon in half and place it cut-side down in a skillet with a teaspoon of ghee or neutral oil, over medium-high heat. Add the garlic clove to the pan. Cook until the lemon develops deep brown, caramelized edges and the garlic is softened and lightly browned.
- Build the dressing. Squeeze the warm lemon juice into a small bowl or jar, being careful to catch the seeds. Mash or finely mince the cooked garlic and add it along with the brown sugar, Dijon mustard and fresh thyme. Whisk in the oil until emulsified. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and taste. The dressing should hit sweet, tart, savoury and slightly bitter from the caramelized lemon.
- Build the slaw. Combine the Napa cabbage, purple cabbage, carrot, red pepper, snow peas and greens in a large bowl. Toss with enough Burnt Lemon Brown Sugar Vinaigrette to lightly coat the vegetables. Keep the slaw crisp rather than drowning it in dressing.
- Add the chicken. Slice the hot Crispy Chicken Schnitzel into strips and arrange over the cold slaw. Finish with another light drizzle of vinaigrette.
- Add the sauces. Dollop or drizzle the Dijonnaise and Sambal Mayo over the whole salad and serve immediately
- Finish with fresh sesame seeds, green onion and fresh cilantro.
Notes
• Cut everything thin: Thinly sliced vegetables make this slaw easier to eat and give every forkful a little bit of everything.
• The chicken: For the crispiest result, cook the schnitzel just before serving and place it on top of the cold slaw rather than tossing it through.
• Make it ahead: Cook your chicken. Prep the vegetables and sauces separately. Dress the slaw shortly before serving and re-heat the chicken at the last minute.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: North American
