Yes, I realize that it’s not the sexiest food or
vegetable. And though it’s the main ingredient in coleslaw, when was the last
time you had a Pavlovian reaction when someone placed a bowl of coleslaw in
front of you? Most of the other Brassica
oleracea cultivars have their devoted and dedicated followers like kale
whose devotees jam their Vitamixes for smoothies or BBQ enthusiasts who swear
that collard greens are the only side that should be served with ribs. Or low
carb fanatics who use cauliflower as a carb substitute for pizza crust, rice
and even mashed potatoes. And I recently highlighted broccoli and its
versatility. Even Brussels sprouts are in the limelight especially when they’re
deep fried often with bacon. But cabbage? It’s just another one of those ho hum
foods…
Cabbage Nutrition
Though cabbage may not get any respect at the dinner
table, consider this; the 3,3
diindolylmethane in cabbage increased short term survival in rats exposed
to lethal doses of radiation. The sulforaphane
also found in cabbage can impede the growth of certain cancers including
melanoma, prostate, pancreatic and esophageal in lab studies possibly by
inhibiting an enzyme involved in cancer growth and apigenin decreased tumor size when aggressive breast cancer cells
were implanted in mice.
The anthocyanins
found in red cabbage have been found to slow both formed cancer cells as well
as limit the formation of new tumor growths and possibly reduce the
inflammation associated with cardiovascular disease. When fermented as in kimchi and sauerkraut, it creates a load
of probiotics which can help both your immune and digestive systems. And the
fiber in cabbage helps keep you “regular”… just that alone will keep me eating
cabbage.
Cabbage also is a good source of Vitamin K, magnesium and
folic acid and it also contains pyridoxine, calcium and thiamine along with
choline, beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin.
My Standby Weekday
Lunch
For the past several years, the Mrs and I have been
knoshing primarily on vegetables for our weekday lunches. Initially, we
brown-bagged sandwiches and veggie sticks for lunch but started consuming just
veggies after overindulging during our Bay Area vacations and eventually,
veggies became our usually lunch even if we weren’t returning from vacation. And
often, cabbage is involved because of its ease in preparation. You simply have
to quarter, slice off the core then chop and cook. No peeling, seeding or other
prep work is needed and everything can be cooked in one pot. I often jazz our
lunchtime cabbage up with a hint protein, sometimes finely sliced ham,
sometimes chicken, sometimes pork and I often add both smoked salt and smoked
paprika for a little more pizazz!
On other weeks, I often use head cabbage’s cousin, won bok (or Napa cabbage) cooked with sliced
bamboo shoots, sliced shiitake and daikon for an Asian twist using sliced
fishcake as the protein. Of course, won
bok does take a little more prep work as crawly green critters sometimes
invade those inner leaves so you can’t simply chop the cabbage as is but must
inspect every leaf. But that additional sweetness found in won bok makes it worth the extra effort.
The Simplest
Technique, Raw
Raw is the simplest as it only requires slicing and
dicing preparing your mis en place but no heat is needed. And what
rhymes with raw? Slaw! But your Southern based coleslaw was so yesterday so
update it with Asian flavors perfect for any summertime barbecue.
Asian Coleslaw
½ lg head cabbage, thin sliced
1 sm head purple cabbage, thin sliced
1 med carrot, peeled and long grated
1 bunch green onion, sliced on the diagonal
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp cilantro flavored oil
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp tabasco shoyu
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp tonkatsu sauce
about 1/3 cup mayonnaise
salt & black pepper to taste
Toss first four ingredients in a large bowl. Wisk
together next eight ingredients until a smooth dressing forms. Add enough
mayonnaise until you have one cup total of dressing mixture. Pour over cabbage
and toss until evenly coated. I ran out of my cilantro infused olive oil so I
simply added 1 tbsp of vegetable oil and tossed the veggies with roughly
chopped cilantro. Chill & serve.
Blackened Cabbage
A cooking technique that started several years ago was
charred cabbage dishes in trendy restaurants. Whenever food is charred, the
browning reaction is caused by the caramelization of natural sugars in the
food. Caramelized foods add additional flavors like the charred surface of a
steak and in vegetables, because excess moisture is eliminated, it tends to
sweeten and intensify existing flavor components. However, if you watch any
video on charring cabbage in your own home, the heated surface of the cabbage
literally blackens and I’m not sure most home cooks want to take cooking to
this level of char as there’s a very fine line between a caramelized, delicious
outcome and simply tasting burnt.
So, if blackened cabbage is a little too adventurous for
your taste, the following recipe chars the cabbage to a nice golden brown. I
first sampled this dish at local Izakaya Nonbei which was a favorite hang-out
for local Chef George Mavrothalassitis of the eponymous Chef Mavro restaurant.
The original owners sold the restaurant years ago so I’m not even sure if this
dish (and it’s my rendition of the dish, not the actual recipe) is still on the
current menu but the combination of cabbage sweetened naturally by charring
balanced with the salty, umami qualities of iriko with sweetened,
crunchy garlic chips and a touch of smokiness from the charred cabbage and
bonito flakes was simply perfection. The only issue in preparation is that you
want browning (or the Maillard reaction) of the cabbage so only a single layer
can be prepared at a time as large amounts of cabbage will release too much
moisture during cooking and browning won’t occur.
Izakaya
Style Charred cabbage
One-half head cabbage, sliced
1 package iriko (tiny salt dried anchovies)
Sliced fresh garlic cloves
Bonito flakes
Finely sliced green onions
Cooking oil
Heat a heavy frying pan to medium high heat. Add just
enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan then add a single layer of cabbage and
some of the sliced garlic and saute until the cabbage starts to char and the
garlic slices brown but not burn. Toss with the iriko with constant
tossing making sure nothing burns. I couldn’t find iriko at my
neighborhood market so I substituted a couple of dashes of powdered hon dashi
which also gives the cabbage an umami kick. Remove from heat then top
with the bonito flakes and green onions.
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