This colorful cabbage salad has evolved along with my eating habits

That’s when he asked me about my current eating habits, and I realized that I had just inadvertently volunteered. I was happy about it, really. I had passively suggested I could do something that I had actively considered asking to do; but I had been a little nervous about how to propose it.

I’m not a vegetarian. I’ve written about that before. But I have been adding more and more meatless dishes to my repertoire, driven equally as matters of health, convenience and conscience. I also enjoy them as a challenge. Like so many people, I’ve never been predisposed to liking most vegetables, and I tend to get a charge out of it when I make something that’s plant-based that I genuinely enjoy. Joe’s column has been a source for a lot of those discoveries, and recipes such as Mushroom-Walnut “Meatballs”; Sweet, Spicy and Crunchy Korean Tofu; and Spicy Sesame Chile Noodles are all on repeat in my rotation. Plus all the beans, of course.

So my desire to make sure this column didn’t go on hiatus in Joe’s absence was sort of selfish. Now I get to do the research, testing and sampling it takes to make it happen. I hope we’ll all benefit.

The dish I told Joe about over lunch was a salad that I’ve made for a few years and became my fallback through most of the pandemic. It’s a cabbage salad, which is funny because I hated cabbage when I was a kid. It’s based on a famous Wolfgang Puck creation: the Chinois chicken salad. I’ve had it at various Puck restaurants over the years, and I found that sometimes I loved it and sometimes I didn’t. At first, that confused me, but then I started paying attention. I realized that I liked the salad when the cabbage was thinly sliced, and not so much when it was cut into chunky bits. I started thinking about all the cabbage that was put in front of me when I was a kid. It was always chunky. Could I really have not hated cabbage so much as the way it was cut?

I don’t know, but I do know that no cabbage goes through my kitchen without being dispatched into slim, sturdy ribbons.

Eventually, I looked up Puck’s recipe online, and I made it. It’s great. But over the years, I’ve simplified and adapted it to my tastes. I pared down the dressing ingredient list. I changed the mango to orange. I subbed out radicchio for red cabbage. I added red onion.

I never used as much chicken as he called for, and sometime in the past couple years, I stopped putting chicken in it altogether. And I didn’t miss it. To me, this salad is about the heft of the cabbage, the cool of the lettuce, the crunch of the cashews and wonton chips, the brightness of the citrus and the umami bass note of the sesame-soy dressing.

So that’s what my eating habits are these days: things I can put together quickly with minimal cooking and even less thinking, where the inclusion of an animal protein isn’t assumed but a would-I-even-miss-it afterthought. And over the next few months, I hope I feature a recipe or two that enters your rotation on repeat.

Joe Yonan will return in May.

Orange and Cashew Cabbage Salad with Sesame Dressing

Any green cabbage works well as the base of this salad; varieties such as napa and Savoy will be slightly more tender than standard cabbage, so pick which one you like best. Substitution options are nearly endless. The original recipe by chef Wolfgang Puck featured chicken and called for radicchio instead of the red cabbage, and mango instead of orange.

Storage Notes: The dressing can be kept refrigerated for up to one week.

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• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons mustard, preferably Chinese or Dijon
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon sesame paste, may substitute tahini
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon chili oil, or more to taste
• 1/2 cup peanut oil, or another neutral oil
• Fine salt (optional)
• Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

• 8 ounces (1/4 medium head) green cabbage, finely shredded (4 cups)
• 2 ounces (1/8 small head) red cabbage, finely shredded (1 cup)
• 1 head romaine lettuce, roughly torn
• 1/2 small red onion (2 ounces total), thinly sliced
• 1 medium carrot, scrubbed and coarsely grated
• 1/2 cup crispy wonton strips, divided (may substitute crispy chow mein noodles)
• 1 medium seedless orange, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces and divided
• 1/2 cup roasted, unsalted cashews, divided
• Sesame seeds, white or black, for optional garnish

Make the dressing: In the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, combine the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, mustard, honey, sesame paste or tahini, ginger, and chili oil. Pulse several times to combine, then, with the motor running, slowly add the peanut oil and process until the dressing is emulsified. Taste, and season with salt, pepper and/or more chili oil, if needed. You should get about 1 cup.

Make the salad: In a large bowl, toss together the green and red cabbages, lettuce, onion, carrot and half of the wonton strips until well distributed. Add half of the dressing and toss until well coated. Add half of the orange pieces and half of the cashews and toss lightly to combine.

Divide the salad among 4 plates and garnish each portion with the remaining wonton strips, oranges and cashews, and the sesame seeds, if using. Serve with the remaining dressing on the side, if desired.

Calories: 369; Total Fat: 29 g; Saturated Fat: 4 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 370 mg; Carbohydrates: 27 g; Dietary Fiber: 6 g; Sugar: 11 g; Protein: 8 g

This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s advice.

From staff writer Jim Webster, inspired by a Wolfgang Puck recipe.

Tested by Jim Webster; email questions to voraciously@washpost.com.

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