Chinese Cabbage
I think that we are all craving vegetables right about now and while this simple side dish will not win any beauty contests it hits the spot. Chinese Cabbage is delicious and would be a perfect companion to any of the Asian main dishes (of which there are many) that you will find here at Sly Rooster. I used Savoy cabbage but really any variety would work. Traditionally, Taiwanese flat cabbage, with it’s loosely packed leaves, would be used. Also traditional, the leaves would be hand torn as opposed to cut with a knife. I employed this technique to achieve the irregular look and to easily remove the tough stems as I was tearing away.
As with all stir-frys, prep and measure in advance. I can’t reiterate this enough. Once your wok or pan is hot, things move fast! And finally, this recipe includes Sichuan peppercorns. I ordered them off Amazon months ago and have been having fun experimenting with them. If you cook and eat them whole, they have this odd numbing affect on your tastebuds. Not spicy, just unique. And for me, they make my drinking water taste wonky! I love weird flavors, therefore I enjoy Sichuan peppercorns, but my family, not so much. In this recipe, the Sichuan peppercorns are fried and then removed (only flavoring the oil) so my family did not notice them at all. For that reason, and the fact that I don’t want their inclusion to discourage you from giving this recipe a try, I will say that you can skip them. I am sure that this option is completely offensive to any Taiwanese cooks out there but I am going to stand by my position. If you are curious, order Sichuan peppercorns for your pantry (and google recipes that feature them more predominantly) and if not, make this Chinese Cabbage Stir-Fry without them. Enjoy!
Chinese Cabbage Stir-Fry
Ingredients
- 1 Tbls vegetable oil
- 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorn optional
- 3 cloves garlic sliced
- 3 slices ginger
- 6 dried chiles or fresh chiles
- 1 med cabbage hand-torn into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp black rice vinegar
- 2 pinches salt
- 2 pinches sugar
Instructions
- Add cooking oil and Sichuan peppercorns to a cold wok. Sizzle over high heat until fragrant (do not burn). Remove the peppercorns with a slotted spoon and discard.
- Fry ginger, garlic and dried chillies in the oil briefly then stir in cabbage.
- When the cabbage wilts, add soy sauce, black rice vinegar, salt and sugar.
- Stir fry for a further 20 seconds or so. Dish out and serve warm.