The Allure of Cabbage – Sichuan Pickled Cabbage

By the time my brothers and I got to high school our father had stopped preparing daily lunches for us. Perhaps we rejected them because he would make thick, dry meatloaf sandwiches or the white bread would turn soggy and purple when my peanut butter and jelly sandwich wrapped around the apple at the bottom of my backpack.

I took care of my own lunch during my teens with a combination of soft pretzels and mustard sold in the cafeteria for 10 cents each, occasional school lunches, and sneaking off campus with my friend Dave for a quick meal usually from a food cart a few blocks away. With one exception, I have no idea what my brothers did during high school to satisfy their teenage hunger.

At least on one occasion my brother Saul packed a fat wedge of raw green cabbage as part of his midday meal. I have no clue if this was a regular habit, but after a long career as a high school teacher, I know that students of that age can be cruel to each other. I can only imagine the grief he got when he pulled out the block of cabbage to eat in front of his peers. Carrot sticks, cucumber, celery, red pepper, all acceptable, but a hunk of peppery raw cabbage?

My mother is also a huge fan of cabbage; whenever I serve it, she comments on how much she likes it. She especially loves coleslaw and pepper hash (a Philadelphia/Pennsylvania Dutch dish that is similar to coleslaw with the addition of bell pepper and minus the mayonnaise). She used to make a tasty cabbage soup in a thin red tomato broth, with meaty beef bones. It’s distantly reminiscent of my stuffed cabbage, which I know she’s fond of. When I cooked Chinese food at home as a teenager, often the vegetable on the side was Vinegar Slithered Cabbage. I can only imagine it was in part because my mother liked the vegetable so much.

Cabbage has never been an especially popular dish in the US, perhaps because of its sulfurous odor. Mostly it’s relegated to a side of coleslaw or boiled into oblivion with corned beef. But over the last handful of years there has been a renaissance, with seared wedges of the cruciferous heads served topped with sauces, cheese, and crunchy garnishes like toasted nuts, seeds, and breadcrumbs.

My son Jacob recently took us to a well-regarded Sichuan restaurant in Manhattan near where he lives. As we perused the menus and chose dishes to share, we were served a small bowl of Sichuan pickled cabbage to whet our appetite. This was not a surprise as Sichuan restaurants often start a meal with a gratis serving of pickled vegetables. I’ve had pickled carrots, pickled daikon, probably others, and now pickled cabbage. This one was exceptional. Slightly soft from its treatment, but still crunchy. Tart from the vinegar, but somewhat sweet as well. Spicy, but not overpowering, it was the perfect buzz of Sichuan mala on the tongue.

Another way to enjoy the allure of cabbage.

Sichuan Pickled Cabbage

Jacob, who also has a fondness for coleslaw, wondered how hard it would be to recreate the pickled cabbage we were served at that Sichuan restaurant. With the beautiful heads of cabbage I harvested from my garden this spring, I played with a recipe from Maggie Zhu’s Omnivore’s Cookbook, which provides excellent Chinese recipes. I found it too sweet and cloying but a good starting point to make adjustments to satisfy my taste. While it does not exactly match that from the Sichuan restaurant a few months ago, it is an excellent alternative and makes for an excellent start to a Chinese meal.

45 minutes plus 3 days resting, makes 1 quart

½ a small head of green cabbage

1 large carrot, peeled

2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. kosher salt, divided

1 cup unseasoned rice vinegar

¼ cup white vinegar

1 cup water

½ cup sugar

8 dried red chili peppers

1 – 2 tsp. Sichuan peppercorns

3 or 4 cloves garlic, smashed

chili oil or chili crisp for serving, optional

1. Remove and discard the core from the cabbage and tear the leaves into uneven 1-inch pieces. Cut the carrot into ⅛ to ¼-inch thick slices.
2. Place the cabbage and carrots into a large bowl and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of kosher salt. Toss and hand massage the vegetables for a minute or two, to release water and help the vegetables remain crunchy. Set aside to sit at room temperature for ½ to a full hour.
3. Make the pickling liquid: Combine remaining 1 teaspoon of kosher salt with unseasoned rice vinegar, white vinegar, water, sugar, and dried red chili peppers in a small saucepan and heat over medium until it simmers. Cook, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved (or longer to make it spicier). Remove from heat and allow to cool.
4. Toast the Sichuan peppercorns in a small, dry, heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently until just before smoking. Set aside to cool.
5. Drain and discard any water released by the cabbage and carrots and rinse very well with cold water. Drain well and squeeze excess water from the vegetables.
6. Transfer the cabbage and carrot, along with the smashed garlic and Sichuan peppercorns to a 1-quart jar.
7. Add the pickling liquid, making sure the vegetables are submerged. Place in the refrigerator to pickle for three days and use within three weeks.
8. Serve as is or topped with chili oil or chili crisp for added spice.

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