Sesame Coleslaw

When I started medical school, no one ever told me how hard anatomy would be.  Sure, I was apprised of the volume of subject material (truly: in 2011 I’ve forgotten more about the intrinsic muscles of the foot than I will ever know about anything else).  What I wasn’t aware of was how bad I would be at dissection.  The textbooks detailed the aesthetics of the final product, but the directions were regrettably abstract.  Only the perfectionists and artists in our class seemed to fare well.  Ari and I even got to do it twice because of the masters of anatomy; unfortunately, I never got past the chop suey skill level.

Over winter break I decided to construct a coleslaw to pair with the Smitten Kitchen Southwestern Pulled Brisket.  Wasn’t sure how to go about shredding the cabbage, but I was too proud to ask for help.  I began hacking away at the vegetable much in the way I executed most of anatomy lab — at the wrong angle with a dull knife.

My family watched in horrified silence for a couple of minutes before my mom offered to show me the right way to cole a slaw.  It turns out that I was trying to work from the outside of the globe in, when in fact you need to start from the core out.  Although I was resentful of the advice at the time, this lesson has aided every subsequent cabbage encounter.

I’m sure a lot of you already have this basic skill, but I’ve prepared a mini tutorial (see below) to facilitate your cabbage dissection experience, should you not.  Ari, would you be interested in co-producing a Netter’s of chopped vegetables?

Ingredients (adapted from the Simply Recipes Asian Coleslaw):

• 3/4 shredded cabbage
• 3-4 carrots chopped into matchsticks
• 2 Tbsp tahini (or peanut butter)
• 2 Tbsp sesame oil
• 4 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2-3 tsp powdered ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• Ground black pepper, sesame seeds, and some chopped cilantro
• Bean sprouts (optional addition suggested by Ari, the whitest Asian I know)

Do not be intimidated by the cabbage. We will soon probe its inner depths. Look! It even dressed up in some garnish for you.

Outer covering shed, all warmed up.

Take a wedge out of the cabbage in the region of the core...or what I like to call "thing I can eat while cooking."

Split the remainder of the globe in half. You want to start from the center to the outer edge when making sections. Seemingly teleological tendrils will fall from your knife to the cutting board.

A close-up of the plane you'll be working with.

The only way this could be made easier is for someone to grow a cabbage-carrot hybrid so you could shred them at the same time. Oh and PS, put the rest of the ingredients in a small bottle or tupperware and shake. You can dress the coleslaw ahead of time. It might be best to shred the cabbage a day before you eat it to let it soften minimally.

Garnish with sesame seeds.

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