Coleslaw is a salad
preparation derived from the Dutch culinary item koolsla
which means "cabbage salad". It is a preparation made with
cabbage which has been tossed in a creamy, sour sauce.
There are many variations of this salad but many fancy the
version offered by that chicken outlet, KFC (as do I).
In Malaysia, coleslaw has not been available for over a year in all KFC outlets. KFC management has blamed problems with logistics of some of the ingredients. However, there was a time while COVID was prevalent that the price of cabbage went up high and I wouldn't be surprised if it was partially a cost-saving effort on the part of KFC. In some parts of the US, coleslaw availability was also disrupted for a period due to difficulty in sourcing the mayonnaise.
At this time of writing, coleslaw is still not available in Malaysian KFC outlets and so the next best thing for those partial to this variety of slaw, is to make a copy.
After some research and
testing, I settled on Todd Wilbur's recipe for a KFC coleslaw
copy. To derive a good copy, one needs to include minced onion
(can be blended), achieve the desired degree of tartness (via
buttermilk and lemon juice/vinegar), and allow the finely
chopped pieces of vegetable to attain crunchiness from osmotic
exchange between the slaw sauce and the cells in the vegetable
matrices.
Here's how to make a copy of the KFC coleslaw:
Ingredients
- 4 cups
finely chopped cabbage
- 1/8 cup finely
chopped carrot
- 1 tablespoon minced
onion
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/6 cup fine sugar
- 1/4 cup milk with 1
teaspoon vinegar
(this is to approximate buttermilk)
- 1 tablespoon lemon
juice
- 3/4 tablespoon
vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- A dash of pepper
Note that the "cup" (US)
measure used here means 240 mL.
Method
- Combine all the
sauce ingredients and whisk until smooth.
- Then add the
cabbage and the carrot;
Mix sauce and vegetable well.
- Refrigerate the slaw for at least 2 hours (to allow crunchiness and taste to develop) before serving.
My KFC
coleslaw copy with KFC fried chicken
Enjoy!