So, weekdays are hard. With work, Things To Do (like laundry, bank stuff, and other horribly adult things that apparently need to get done to ensure one’s survival), and the occasional social engagement, it’s nearly impossible to muster the energy to make a decent, healthy-ish, delicious dinner.

The way that I’ve learned to combat the after-work exhaustion/delirium/repulsion from the stove is to do 2 to 3 hours of cooking on Sunday or Monday for the whole work week. I imagine that you’re thinking “2 to 3 hours, you say? Sorcery! Blasphemy! Lies!” but really, with practice, you can get your weekly meal prep down to the length of just a few episodes of TV! More on my prep strategies later- this post is about one recipe in particular.

One of the ways that I cram a full week’s worth of cooking into a couple of hours is by having a few insanely easy, massively quick recipes in my back pocket. Case in point: Spicy Ginger Coleslaw. It’s super simple, takes literally 5 minutes to throw together, and lasts perfectly in the fridge throughout the week. In fact, it gets better after a couple of days of marinating. I like to serve it with some pan-seared spicy tofu, on a sandwich, alongside some fish, or just by itself because it’s super flavourful and delicious.

Ingredients

Veggies

1 bag pre-cut coleslaw mix (I’m learning that it’s ok to not do EVERYTHING from scratch. Shredding cabbage, radicchio, and carrots is, in my opinion, a task sent from below to test our sanity, so I’m super happy to relinquish that task to a huge machine somewhere who does it flawlessly)

1 onion, cut into thin half-moons

1/2 cucumber, julienned as best as you can (optional)

1 bell pepper, also julienned (optional)

Dressing

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 tbsp fish sauce

1/2 a jalapeño, roughly chopped

2-inch piece of ginger, roughly peeled and chopped

1/2 tsp sugar

3 tbsp soy sauce

How-To

1. Place all your veggies in a bowl.
2. Blend all dressing ingredients until there are no big chunks of ginger left behind. Adjust seasoning to taste.
3. Add dressing to veggies, mix, and let rest in the fridge to marinate for half an hour if you can wait. If not, just eat some right away, it’ll still be delicious, and leave the rest in the fridge as a side dish for lunches and/or dinners to come. Be sure to store in a well-sealed container.