When Kauai was in the grips of COVID-19 in the summer of 2020, Kauai was blessed with grants that helped farmers provide island residents with CSA boxes, free of charge to us. It was amazing to see farms and farmers team up to create and distribute these boxes to the entire island.
One of things I saw in almost every week’s share was a huge, dark green bunch of healthy kale. And, one of the questions I heard over and over again was, “How are you going to eat this?”
I discovered this kale salad when I was living in the Tampa Bay area. I was looking in the deli at a local health food store and saw this delicious, vibrant-looking kale salad. It didn’t look raw… but it didn’t look cooked either.
“Is that cooked?” I asked.
The reply forever changed my view on kale – for the better. Matter-of-fact, even my keiki love this salad. It is savory and flavorful. It is also quick and easy to make.
This kale salad is what I called “cured” in Bragg Liquid Aminos and safflower oil. As a side note, you cannot use olive oil in place of safflower oil because olive oil leaves a strange, bitter aftertaste on the kale leaves. However, you can easily substitute grape seed oil for safflower oil and the effect is almost identical.
On Kauai, it is pretty easy to find Bragg Liquid Aminos; it is available in Big Save, Times and Safeway. Safflower oil is a bit harder to come by, but Costco sells grape seed oil in half-gallon size containers. So, in a pinch I go with that.

Best 5-Minute No-Cook Kale Salad in the World
Ingredients
- 5-7 leaves kale
- 1 round onion
- 3 tbsp safflower oil substitute: grape seed oil
- 3 tbsp Bragg Liquid Amino
Instructions
- Whisk safflower (or grape seed) oil and Bragg Liquid Amino until combined well.
- Slice onion thinly.
- Pour safflower oil and Bragg Liquid Amino mixture over onions. Mix until well coated.
- Remove tough inner stalk from kale. Then tear kale leaves into bite-sized pieces.
- Add kale to the onion mixture. Toss until well coated.
- Enjoy!