Broccoli Slaw with White Miso-Ginger Dressing

I was recently swayed to purchase a bag of broccoli slaw for the first time. We had it for dinner the other night dressed with a miso ginger dressing (still working on using up that tub of miso!) and it was ok that night, but the lunch I made of it the next day was soooo much better. This is definitely one of those make it the day before dishes. The broccoli still retains plenty of crunch, but really benefits from sitting in the dressing. I roasted some marinated chicken breasts to slice for the top of the slaw and those got better the next day too. This would be great food for a picnic you might plan on taking the day after you've made all the components. I served the Monster's portion mixed with a few brown rice elbow noodlies too, but there weren't any sitting in the slaw overnight to report on how they'd fare. Great without that addition though!

Broccoli Slaw with White Miso-Ginger Dressing:

1 bag of broccoli slaw
sliced water chestnuts, drained and rinsed (just add as many as you'd like, I only used ~1/4 can)
some English cucumber, quartered then sliced
a handful of chopped cilantro
a good couple shakes of Gomasio of you want, or toasted sesame seeds

Combine all of the above and then add dressing. Let sit overnight covered in refrigerator.


Dressing:
(Originally from Martha Stewart...ugh. Adapted for the slaw in that I added chili-garlic paste, soy sauce and more sweetener)

1 (2") piece of fresh ginger, peeled
2 1/2 Tbs white miso
3 Tbs rice wine vinegar
2 Tbs grated carrot
1/2 tsp grated onion (white or red) with juice
1/2 tsp sugar (agave nectar)
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs canola oil (I didn't use anywhere near this much)

Ok, here's where I started adding my own spin...after the slaw sits overnight, taste it and see if it needs anything else.

~1-2 Tbs soy sauce
~1+ Tbs honey
~1/2-1 tsp chili-garlic paste (what, you don't have this?? EVERYONE needs some in their fridge door :-)
I'm sure I added some salt and pepper to finish somewhere along the line too

Place a coffee filter into a medium bowl and using a micro-plane, grate ginger into the filter. Squeeze as much of the juice into the bowl as you can extract and discard the pulp.
I went ahead and kept using the micro-plane for grating the carrot and onion, then added to the ginger juice.
Add the rest of the ingredients except for the oil.
Slowly whisk in oil until emulsifies and refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use or just mix the whole batch into your slaw.

I'll go ahead and post the marinade for the chicken in a separate post since it seems like a good one to pair with any number of dinners and can stand on it's own.