The Secret Ingredient (Chipotle) Part 1: Red Hot Chipotle Slaw

Chipotle Slaw Tacos

I am having an addiction problem with this slaw. I just can’t get enough.

I’m already a sucker for any kind of Tex-Mex or California slaw. The stuff that’s piled on fish tacos. But this one is smoky, and super spicy. Chipotle peppers, this month’s secret ingredient (I don’t think I’ve EVER been so excited for a secret ingredient), are smoked jalapeños. The way I usually find them, and use them, is packed in a can with adobo, a sauce made from tomatoes, onion, vinegar, paprika, and garlic. The chiles and the sauce are both smoky, deep, rust red, and intensely flavorful. They have that zing from the vinegar in the adobo, the smokiness of the pepper, the richness of paprika and tomato. It’s one-stop shopping.

For this recipe, I took the inspiration of fish taco slaw, and turned up every dial. Starting with purple cabbage, I added fresh cilantro and scallions for freshness and crunch. Lime juice for a tart shot. And most importantly, both fresh jalapeños, and the chipotles with their adobo. The mixture of smoked and fresh chilies make this slaw complexly spicy, and the adobo just makes the whole thing taste south of the border. I serve this slaw instead of cole slaw, piled onto a fish sandwich, or by itself, in warm corn tortillas, as fresh, vegetarian tacos. Delicious.

Excerpted from my weekly column The Secret Ingredient at Serious Eats.  Click HERE for this post.