Chris O'Leary's Sour Slaw

 

Who are you, what do you do and where are you really from?

Chris O’Leary, creator of FatBoy Zine. Born in Hong Kong, half Filipino half Irish :)

Any thoughts on ‘Asian slaw’ to share?

I never thought of it until you prompted this question. It's so funny, to be honest I love examples where something unnatural has become naturalised because it’s delicious (if it’s a nice, unproblematic thing). although, I like the idea of reclaiming it!

There are a lot of dishes that began as Western that we’ve adopted and made our own, it's fun treating this as a constant back and forth of recipes. Especially when it’s a chance to blow people’s minds with ingredients!

Eaten any memorable slaws, Asian or otherwise?

Admittedly I’ve never been a huge fan of coleslaw - the mayo puts me off. But, I am fond of this tomato and black pepper mix that sits on top of grilled fish in the Philippines. It inspired my recipe. I love the sour, vinegar mix that opens the taste buds; it’ll go well with pork or fatty meats.

Sour slaw

  • 1/4 head of white cabbage

  • 1/4 head of red cabbage

  • 1/2 cup of Datu Puti vinegar

  • 1 carrot

  • 1 green tomato

  • 1/2 a green (unripe) sour mango

  • 6 yellow cherry tomatoes

  • 1 TB cracked black pepper

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 tsp sugar

  1. Shred and wash the cabbage, then combine the above ingredients. Set aside while you continue with the rest of the recipe.

  2. Shred and blanche the carrot in boiling water for 10 seconds, then plunge into cold water. This keeps the colour better.

  3. Finely slice the green tomato. 

  4. Peel and cube the green mango.

  5. Quarter the cherry tomatoes.

  6. Drain the cabbage, and combine all ingredients in a bowl, mixing in the seasoning.

  7. EAT!

Tell me about the ingredients and why you chose them for this recipe:

I love the Philippines’ use of vinegar, the sour and sweet combo. So I’ve used ingredients that bring that, layering different kinds of sour together:

The unripe mango was a snack as a kid

The green tomato, although not usual in the Fillos, is in the spirit of this

The vinegar to slightly pickle the cabbage and coat it in a delicious sharp liquid

What will you serve your slaw with (dishes, drinks)?

Small portions, ideally next to fatty meats or fish to cut through.

Who will you invite to eat your slaw?

Olivia Rodrigo, she’s also Pinoy and we could listen to her album SOUR at the same time.

 
Jenny Lau