Chinese Spicy and Sour Stir-Fried Cabbage

Hunanese food is famous for its fiery, chili-spiked dishes, and this quick and easy one with hand-torn cabbage is no exception.  Slightly sour, thanks to the addition of black rice vinegar, the dish is great whenever there is a craving for a hot vegetable dish around the house.  Today, I want to share this recipe with you. This is not your typical boring vegetable dish, it’s bold, hot and satisfying.

 

Ingredients:

1 medium head of green cabbage (about 1.5 pounds)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 dired chili peppers, cut into small pieces with a kitchen scissor

Sauce:
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ tablespoon Chinese vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt

 

Direction:

Step 1:  Halve the cabbage with a knife and remove the core; tear the leaves into 3-inch wide pieces with hand (I prefer leaving the stems out and only keep the tender leaves).  Whisk together soy sauce, Chinese vinegar, sugar and salt in a small container, set aside.   Tear the cabbage leaves by hand is a feature of this dish, the cabbage leaves are torn by hand have uneven edges which help absorb flavors better.

    

 

 

Step 2:   Pour oil into the pan, add in the dried chili pepper, turn to low heat and sauté a minute or until fragrant.  Toss in the garlic and sauté until fragrant under low heat.
Add in the cabbage and turn to medium heat, cook about 3 minutes or until soft.

    

 

Step 3: Give the sauce (previously set aside) a light stir before adding into the pan, stir to mix well, cook for a minute under high heat or until the seasoning’s evenly distributed.