A simple salad of finely shredded cabbage, marinated in sunflower oil and vinegar, seasoned with sugar and salt. These basic ingredients make Czech coleslaw, which is served as a side dish in Czech pubs with classics such as bramborak potato pancakes, Schnitzels, or sekana meatloaf!
Just so you know, Czech gastronomy is not only tasty but also hearty. On a plate full of delicious food, you get a vegetable garnish, which often consists of this type of coleslaw.
Czech slaw is made from raw cabbage, either purple or green. For a nice color presentation on the plate, both types of salad are often combined to create a nice contrast - a scoop of green and red cabbage salad.
You don't need any fancy ingredients or cooking experience to prepare the salad. The only tricky part of making Czech pub coleslaw is that it needs to sit for at least two hours before being served.
The Czech name for this cabbage salad is Zelny salat.
MY TIP: Try also braised red cabbage for meat!
➜ Ingredients
Only fresh cabbage and a handful of ingredients for sweet and tangy vinegar based dressing make this slaw! (no mayo, no carrot):
- Raw cabbage head; either green/white or red/purple. For the recipe, I used green cabbage.
- Vinegar; I used vinegar with 8% acidity. If you are based in the US, you will probably use white vinegar, which has an acidity of only 5%. In that case, you'll need to add a little more vinegar to get the desired taste of the salad. Another good choice is apple cider vinegar, which gives the coleslaw a stronger kick of flavor.
- Sunflower oil; or Canola (rapeseed oil). These vegetable oils have a neutral taste and smell. Czechs usually do not put olive oil in a classic cabbage salad, as it is more pronounced.
- Granulated white sugar
- Salt
✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
➜ Making vinegar coleslaw
STEP 1: Remove wilted or damaged leaves from the top of the cabbage. Cut the head in half and remove the stiff stem. Using a large chef's knife, cut the cabbage into fine strips.
STEP 2: Put a quart of water on to boil; the kettle will heat it up the fastest. Transfer the shredded cabbage to a colander and gently scald it with boiling water. Let sit for a while until the water drips off and the cabbage cools.
Scalding with hot water will soften the cabbage.
STEP 3: Transfer the drained and cooled cabbage to a bowl. Add salt, oil, sugar, and vinegar. Stir by hand to combine the flavors.
STEP 4: Place the bowl in the fridge and let the coleslaw marinate for at least a couple of hours before serving. Then toss the slaw briefly in the bowl, taste, and season with additional salt, sugar, or vinegar, if necessary.
➜ Serving
There are basically two ways to serve homemade coleslaw.
Put a small pile of slaw on a plate as a perfect side dish. Alternatively, put the coleslaw into a bowl, top it with a spoon or fork, and set next to the dish of food.
➜ How to tweak vinegar based slaw
Hundred people, hundred different tastes; so says a Czech proverb. If you want to improve your tangy coleslaw, I suggest the following ways. Add these ingredients while making the salad:
- a tablespoon of chopped green fresh dill leaves
- two tablespoons finely chopped onion
- ground black pepper for a sharper taste
- one grated carrot (learn how to shred carrots)
➜ Useful tips
- I usually make coleslaw in larger quantities. It will keep in the fridge for about five days without any problems, as long as we don't eat it out before then!
- At the bottom of the salad bowl, there will be juice left over, which the cabbage releases during marinating. Feel free to drink all the excess moisture; it's good and healthy. My husband loves this flavored cabbage juice!
- If you pour boiling water over the shredded cabbage, the kraut will soften but still be pleasantly crispy. I recommend not skipping this step and taking a moment to scald the cabbage.
More vegetable recipes:
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Vinegar Based Coleslaw (Czech Zelny salat)
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Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh cabbage
- 2 ½ Tablespoons vinegar 5% acidity
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ Tablespoon salt to adjust the taste as desired
- 3 Tablespoons sunflower oil (or canola)
Instructions
- Remove any wilted or damaged leaves from 1 pound fresh cabbage. Cut the head in half and remove the stiff stem. Using a large chef's knife, slice the cabbage into fine strips.
- Put a quart of water on to boil; using a kettle will heat it up the fastest. Transfer the shredded cabbage to a colander and gently scald it with the boiling water. Let it sit until the water drips off and the cabbage cools.
- Transfer the drained and cooled cabbage to a bowl. Add ½ Tablespoon salt, 3 Tablespoons sunflower oil, 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, and 2 ½ Tablespoons vinegar. Stir by hand to combine the flavors.
- Place the bowl in the fridge and let the coleslaw marinate for at least a couple of hours. Before serving, toss the slaw briefly in the bowl, taste, and adjust the seasoning with additional salt, sugar, or vinegar if necessary.
Notes
- Makes at least 4 bowls of vinegar coleslaw.
- SERVING: There are basically two ways to serve homemade coleslaw. You can either place a small pile of slaw on a plate as a perfect side dish or serve it in a bowl with a spoon or fork next to the main dish.
- STORAGE: Store coleslaw in the fridge, where it will keep for up to five days.
- Scalding with hot water will soften the cabbage, but it will still remain nicely crunchy.
Julia Jesaitis says
I love printing out my favorite recipes but I don’t want to waste space and printer ink on printing out the ads. Can you just make a print/save copy also? Much appreciated!
Thankks.
Petra | Cook Like Czechs says
Ahoj, Julia, thank you for reaching out. If you would like to print the recipe, there is a big red button down at the recipe card, which should switch the website over to mode optimised for printing, without ads and any wasted space.
Hope this helps,
Petra