Ok, I'm not big on making salads, after all they are a side and who has time for another 20 minutes of work after you've made you main meal — that said, I've got a couple up my sleeve when entertaining for groups. I quite often buy rainbow shredded coleslaw from Woolworths and I have several variations of condiments to go with it, from vinegars to keepwie mayonnaise. Sometimes adding sliced raddish as that is quick and easy.
This round was about a massive wow factor for minimum effort. It's almost always a side to protein, or popped in some wraps with chicken or beef.
What's in the bag: Woolworths Rainbow Shredded Coleslaw is carrot (50%), broccoli stem (30%) and beetroot (20%), 300 g, pre-washed. There's no cabbage in it at all. It's sweeter and firmer than a cabbage slaw, and it's almost unsalted, so it needs a dressing that's sharper and saltier than you'd think.
One measured jar, not a squeeze of this and a splash of that. Kewpie, lime, a little fresh ginger, salt and a few drops of sesame oil. On your finger it should taste too sharp and too salty. On 600 g of sweet carrot and beetroot it's right.
The pink is the point. Beetroot dyes the Kewpie the moment it's tossed. Don't fight it and don't rest it to deepen it. Resting it just makes the pink juice that soaks a wrap.
The wow is a spoon of bought crispy chilli oil streaked over the top at the table: heat, salt, savoury, and fried crunch that stays crunchy. Twenty seconds. Lao Gan Ma Crispy Chilli Oil is on the Woolworths Asian shelf. Check the label on whatever jar you buy for nuts and sesame.
Spring onion is the only green. No herbs to pick.
No salting the vegetables first. There's no cabbage to draw water from, and salt just pulls the beetroot juice out.
No honey or sugar. The bag is already sweet.
Two bags for four to six as a side, or about eight wraps. Half everything for one bag.
It holds for 30 to 45 minutes on the table if it stays cool. For a long lunch, dress one bag, then the second when the first is gone. For wraps, lift it with tongs and leave the pink liquid in the bowl. Use warm meat, not piping hot, add a little chilli oil as you roll, and eat it within about 20 minutes. Don't build a dressed wrap to travel. Take the jar with you instead.
For the kids, or anyone who doesn't do chilli, take their serve out before the chilli oil goes on.
It hasn't been made in this exact form yet.
AI reviewed by Grok, Codex & Claude
