Happy late 4th of July! I took this salad to this year’s 4th of July barbeque and it turned out super good! I love Chinese Chicken salad, but since going vegan (mostly) almost 2 years ago, we have not gotten to enjoy it as much! So I kind of made this up as I went along but it is pretty simple and really cheap and easy!

Chinese Chickpea Salad
1 head of cabbage
1/4-1/2 head of red cabbage
2 good sized carrots
About 3 cups of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
About 3 scallions
1/4-1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4-1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Dressing
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2-1 whole tsp fresh grated ginger
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp chili sauce

This salad is pretty forgiving as far as what and how much you want in it so feel free to substitute or omit to your liking! Also, this salad turns out pretty huge so it’s great for parties and it keeps fairly well for a couple days if you want to have it around for a quick lunch or small snack!

Thinly slice or shred the cabbages and wash thoroughly. You’re going to want to peel the carrots and the use whatever means you have to get them to ‘matchstick’ thickness 🙂 I have a snazzy grater that does this really fast but it hasn’t resurfaced since the move so I actually chopped these up with a knife, which I don’t necessarily recommend because it sucks…buut, do what you gotta do.

 Wash and slice your scallions. And then throw everything together. If you are using canned chickpeas be sure to rinse and thoroughly drain before adding them in. For the dressing, add all of the ingredients together and whisk. My family is a little shy when it comes to ginger so we always go on the light side, however using a full teaspoon won’t overpower the dressing. When it comes to the chili sauce, use whatever you like! I generally use a sweet chili sauce because it’s what we have, but spicy is good too! I let my sit overnight before pouring it over the salad but I don’t always and I never notice a difference so whatever works for you! Not the best picture but this is what your dressing should look like when you’re all done.

Toss it all together with some tongs and let it sit and chill for a couple of hours before serving! Enjoy!