I’m a sucker for slaw—I think it’s the juicy crunch that really gets me. Unfortunately, if slaw isn’t made correctly, you get what we’ve all had at one picnic or another— slaw that’s heavy, soggy, and overly sweet. I’ve found that the secret to a great slaw is to make it feel lighter and more like a fresh salad, which is easy to do by just learning a few simple tricks.

Balance flavors and textures。To provide crunch, I like to add vegetables like carrots, celery root, and jícama to the cabbage, and then toss them together with a fresh, bright dressing. While some dressings for slaw can be overly sweet and heavy, I make mine with fresh citrus juice, which gives the slaw a much lighter feel.

Toss with salt, then weight dense vegetables to purge them of excess water。This step makes the vegetables tender and briny and ensures that the slaw doesn’t become too wet once dressed. Coarser cabbages like green and red cabbage benefit from longer purging, whereas a more tender cabbage like Napa breaks down extremely fast, so a short salting is all it requires. Onions also benefit from salting, which mellows any harsh flavors and brings out their sweeter side.

Once it’s assembled, serve the slaw as soon as possible。即使被清除，蔬菜与敷料混合后也会继续释放水，因此最好在一个或两个小时的组装中供应水。例外是含有纳帕白菜的色拉，应立即提供。您可以将剩余的五天制冷长达两天。它的味道会像以往一样美味，但会失去一些酥脆的质地，并会散发出更多的液体。

You can slice the ingredients for these slaws by hand, but a food processor does the job in seconds. To get the long, thin strands that make a great slaw, you need to use the appropriate blade attachment and then orient the vegetables in a certain way. Here’s how to do it.