Crisp Kohlrabi Salad with Chinese Black Vinaigrette

Kohlrabi recipe? Bless you!

Just kidding, I didn’t sneeze…kohlrabi is a vegetable; it looks a little like a turnip, but is more closely related to the cabbage. It is commonly eaten in German speaking countries, but has increased in popularity lately in the States.

It isn’t too hard to find even at local grocery stores now, but if you have trouble with the ones in your area, your local Asian market is a good resource. They always seem to have the biggest and cheapest kohlrabi!

Bonus The leaves are also edible! When you get home, separate the leaves from the kolhrabi, clean them a bit, dry each, and store in your fridges. The leaves can be used in a stir fry or any way you like to cook kale.

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This easy recipe for kohlrabi uses the bare minimum of ingredients: kohlrabi, Chinese black vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and olive oil.

The key to preparing this kohlrabi is to try and get the slices paper thin.

The best way to do this is probably with a mandoline (make sure to use a finger guard) or even a veggie spiralizer…however, we just do it by hand to save on space in our cabinets 🙂 (FYI, The Kitchn has a great tutorial with different ways to slice it).

My husband and his handsome hands will demonstrate how we prepare our thin “flower petal” style slices:

Step 1

Wash and cut both of the ends off of the kohlrabi. Then, using a veggie peeler or a knife, peel the hard outer layer off. If you see stringy white strips, you probably need to go a bit deeper.

Step 2

Cut the kohlrabi in half, from top part to bottom part.

Step 3

This is where it gets tricky. Take half of the kohlrabi and put it sliced side down. Holding it firmly, slice it long end to long end WITHOUT COMPLETELY CUTTING THROUGH TO THE CUTTING BOARD.

Basically, you want the knife to end up with thin, parallel cuts the entire length of the kohlrabi, stopping 1/4 of the way before you hit the cutting board.

Repeat with the other kohlrabi.

Step 4

Now turn the kohlrabi the other way and slice it perpendicular to the cuts you made earlier. Make sure you keep the slices PAPER THIN.

Step 5

Repeat until all the kohlrabi has been sliced thusly. See pic below for close up of what they should look like. This is how you get paper thin “flower petal” kohlrabi slices!

That is one battle-scarred cutting board!

Not much is left to do, except to add the vinaigrette, and then you are done!

I like to put all the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a lidded jar, shake until emulsified, and then toss with the kohlrabi.

This is the black vinegar I use.

Chill and let rest at least 15 minutes or until ready to eat. You can also add some cilantro for flavor and color…my kids won’t TOUCH it if we do, so I leave it out 🙂

Kohlrabi with Chinese Black Vinaigrette

Your new favorite veggie! The tangy vinaigrette and satisfying “crunch” of the kohlrabi will have you asking for seconds.

Kohlrabi

1 large kohlrabi (or 2 medium)

Vinaigrette

1/4 cup Chinkiang Vinegar
1/8 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil (extra virgin)
1 Tbsp sesame oil
pinch of salt (optional (test before adding))

Optional

2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped

Prepare the kohlrabi

Wash and cut both of the ends off of the kohlrabi. Then, using a veggie peeler or a knife, peel the hard outer layer off. If you see stringy white strips, you probably need to go a bit deeper.
Cut in half, from top end to bottom end.
Take half of the kohlrabi and put it sliced side down. Holding it firmly, slice it long end to long end WITHOUT COMPLETELY CUTTING THROUGH TO THE CUTTING BOARD. (See pictures above for more detail)
Now turn the kohlrabi the other way and slice it perpendicular to the cuts you made earlier. Make sure you keep the slices PAPER THIN. Repeat until all kohlrabi has been sliced.

Prepare vinaigrette

Place all the vinaigrette ingredients (vinegar through sesame) in a lidded jar.
Shake until emulsified and thoroughly mixed.
Test saltiness and add pinch of salt if desired. This step really depends on the saltiness level of your soy sauce! Don’t worry if it seems strong, the flavor will “mellow” once added to the fresh kohlrabi
Put the kohlrabi in a medium bowl and add the vinaigrette on top. Mix to make sure all kohlrabi is covered in the vinaigrette.
Place in refrigerator and allow to rest at least 15 minutes, or until you are ready to eat. The longer it is allowed to “soak” in, the more flavor that will be in the kohlrabi.
Optional: add cilantro!