Jamie Oliver Kimchi Coleslaw

Jamie Oliver’s kimchi coleslaw is a fresh, spicy slaw of shredded Chinese cabbage, radishes, red onion, coriander and chillies, dressed in sesame oil and lime. It takes under 5 minutes in a food processor and serves four as a side.

This comes from Oliver’s 30 Minute Meals cookbook (2010), part of his green curry and crispy chicken meal. It’s his take on kimchi flavours without any fermentation, built for speed. The book pairs it with curry, but it works just as well on its own.

The step that makes this slaw work is scrunching everything together with your hands after dressing. That light pressure wilts the cabbage just enough to soften it without killing the crunch. The slaw shrinks to about three-quarters of its original volume, which concentrates the flavour.

Jamie Oliver Kimchi Coleslaw

Recipe by Pinch PerfectCourse: SaladsCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

2

minutes

Calories

95

kcal

Total time

7

minutes

Extracted from the green curry meal in Oliver’s 30 Minute Meals (2010), this no-mayo slaw uses Asian aromatics instead of a creamy dressing. Ready to eat the moment you make it.

Ingredients

• ½ Chinese cabbage (napa cabbage)
  

• 1 bunch of radishes

• 1 red onion, peeled and halved

• 1 bunch of fresh coriander

• 1-2 fresh red chillies, stalks removed

• A thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled

• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

• Sesame oil

• 2 limes

• Sea salt

Directions

• Shred the veg: Wash the radishes well. Shred the radishes, red onion and Chinese cabbage using the thin slicer disc on a food processor. Tip into a large serving bowl.
• Blitz the aromatics: Add the bunch of coriander and the chillies (stalks removed) to the food processor and whiz until finely chopped. Crush in the ginger, then tip everything into the bowl with the shredded veg.
• Toast the sesame seeds: Add the sesame seeds to a dry frying pan on a medium heat. Toast until golden, tossing occasionally, then tip into a small bowl.
• Dress the slaw: Squeeze over the juice from both limes and add a drizzle of sesame oil and a pinch of sea salt.
• Scrunch: Get your hands in and scrunch the slaw together firmly, almost kneading it, until the volume reduces to about three-quarters of the original size. This wilts the cabbage slightly and helps the dressing soak in.
• Serve: Scatter over the toasted sesame seeds and serve straight away.

FAQs

Is Jamie Oliver’s kimchi coleslaw actually kimchi?

Real kimchi involves salting cabbage and fermenting it with gochugaru, fish sauce, garlic and ginger for days or weeks. Oliver’s version borrows those flavours using fresh chillies, ginger and sesame, but skips the fermentation entirely. The result is closer to a dressed salad than a preserved condiment.

That’s the whole point of it. He designed this for a 30-minute meal where everything cooks at once. A slaw that needs days of fermenting doesn’t fit that format, so he built a shortcut that captures the heat and freshness.

Do I need a food processor to make this?

Oliver relies on the food processor because it shreds four handfuls of veg in seconds. That speed matters when you’re cooking an entire meal in 30 minutes. The thin slicer disc gives a fine, even shred that dresses more evenly than hand-cut chunks.

You can make it without one, though. Use a sharp knife or a mandoline to shred the cabbage, radishes and onion as finely as you can. The coriander and chillies can be chopped by hand instead of blitzed. It’ll take closer to 10 minutes instead of 2, but the result tastes the same.

Why does Oliver use Chinese cabbage instead of white cabbage?

Chinese cabbage (also called napa or Chinese leaf) has softer, more pliable leaves than white cabbage. It wilts slightly when you scrunch it, which lets the dressing soak in faster. White cabbage is stiffer and more resistant, so it takes longer to absorb flavours.

The texture is different too. Chinese cabbage has a crunchier rib running through each leaf but thinner, more tender edges. That contrast gives you bite and softness in the same mouthful, closer to real kimchi’s texture than a white cabbage slaw.

What should I serve this kimchi coleslaw with?

In the book, Oliver serves it alongside green curry with crispy chicken and rice noodles. The cool, sharp slaw cuts through the rich coconut curry and works as a palate cleanser between bites.

Outside of that meal, it pairs well with anything grilled or fried. It pairs well with barbecued chicken thighs, pulled pork or fish tacos. Try it alongside Jamie Oliver’s sirloin steak for a fresh contrast against the beef.

How long does this kimchi coleslaw keep in the fridge?

It’s best eaten straight away because the lime juice starts to dull the coriander’s colour after a few hours. The flavour holds up fine overnight in a sealed container, but the slaw loses its bright green look by the next day.

If you know you’re making it ahead, hold back the coriander, lime juice and sesame seeds. Shred and scrunch the cabbage, radish and onion with the chillies, ginger, sesame oil and salt, then refrigerate. Add the fresh bits and seeds just before serving so the slaw looks and tastes like you just made it.

How is this different from regular coleslaw?

Traditional British coleslaw is white cabbage, carrot and onion in a heavy mayonnaise dressing. Oliver’s version drops the mayo entirely and uses sesame oil, lime and chilli instead. There’s no carrot either, and radishes replace it as the crunchy contrast.

The flavour profile is completely different. Regular coleslaw is creamy and mild. This is sharp, spicy and aromatic, with the sesame and ginger doing the heavy lifting. It’s also much lighter at 95 calories per serving, while a mayo slaw can easily hit 200 or more.