The New Vinegar-Slithered Green Cabbage
The first thing I learned to cook when I was young was pizza; every Wednesday, two pizzas for the family. The second thing I learned to cook was Rock Sugar Chicken, a Chinese stewed chicken with bamboo shoots and shitake mushrooms, the sauce saturating a steaming bowl of white rice. Comfort food at its best. Along with Rock Sugar Chicken, we always ate Vinegar-Slithered Green Cabbage. Sweet and slightly tart from a soy sauce-apple cider vinegar bath, its acidity perfectly complimented the richness of the stewed chicken. While the chicken finished cooking, I quickly stir-fried the cabbage, pestering my father as I learned to cook the dish. “Is it cooked enough to add the sauce? What about now? Is it ready?”
I have not cooked Rock Sugar Chicken or Vinegar-Slithered Green Cabbage in years (and my pizza has changed considerably). I don’t know why I stopped cooking the chicken dish, but my wife found the cabbage too sweet and too sour. However, a series of meals at Sichuan restaurants over the last few years had me reconsidering.
We’ve tried cabbage dishes several times at these restaurants. The texture – slightly wilted, yet still crisp – was exactly the same as the cabbage of my youth, but the flavor was not the same. There were tart notes, from vinegar, no doubt, but without the sweetness of apple cider vinegar and sugar; it wasn’t a hot and sour sauce, as described in the original recipe in The Key to Chinese Cooking, by Irene Kuo. The restaurant versions, with the ma la (spicy numbness) of red chilies and Sichuan peppercorns, was more vibrant than what I used to cook. We tried it at a series of restaurants, somewhat different at each spot, but more closely related to each other than the dish I prepared at home.
So I revisited the old recipe. I added Sichuan peppercorns for mouth-tingling numbness and extra chilies for heat. I switched from apple cider vinegar to Chinese black (Chinkiang) vinegar and dramatically reduced the sugar to make it less cloying. And it worked. Neither the same as what I prepared as a child, nor what we order in a restaurant – I would need more experimenting to figure that out – but an improvement on the old. My wife loved it and Vinegar-Slithered Green Cabbage – the new version, at least – will no doubt become a more regular part of my repertoire.
Vinegar-Slithered Green Cabbage
Serves 4, 20 minutes
1½ Tbsp. soy sauce
1½ Tbsp. black (Chinkiang) vinegar
1 Tbsp. Shaoxing cooking wine
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. Sichuan peppercorns
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
6 dried red chili peppers
½ medium head green cabbage, cored and torn into bite size pieces
- Mix the soy sauce, black vinegar, Shaoxing cooking wine, cornstarch, and sugar in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
- Heat the Sichuan peppercorns in a small, dry skillet over low, stirring almost constantly, until they are fragrant, about 3 to 5 minutes. This will bring out the oils and dramatically increase their flavor. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Heat the vegetable oil on low in a wok or heavy skillet large enough to hold all of the cabbage. Toss in the Sichuan peppercorns and cook for about 2 minutes and then remove as many peppercorns as possible.
- Add the chili peppers and cook for about 30 seconds. Do not allow them to blacken, lest it impart a bitter flavor to the oil.
- Turn the heat to high, add the cabbage, and stir fry for several minutes, covering with a lid or adding a tablespoon of water if necessary, until the edges are wilted, but it is still somewhat crisp.
- Give the sauce a good stir, and add it to the wok, stirring to coat the cabbage. Allow it to cook for about 30 seconds, so the sauce thickens because of the cornstarch.
- Remove to a serving platter and eat hot.
