Napa Cabbage Salad

Slightly modified from  Napa Cabbage Salad By Jacques Pepin Step . Too garlicky for some, but we love it. Leftovers keep well for a day or so.

INGREDIENTS 

3 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed and chopped (2 teaspoons) 

½ teaspoon salt 

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard 

1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar 

1 tablespoon soy sauce 

3 tablespoons peanut oil 

1 firm head Napa cabbage (about 1 pound) 

PREPARATION YIELD 6 servings 

Step 1 Put the garlic in a large salad bowl and mix in all the remaining ingredients except the cabbage. 

Step 2 Trim the cabbage, removing and discarding damaged or wilted leaves, and cut the head crosswise into 1-inch slices. You should have about 8 cups. Wash well and spin dry in a salad dryer (moisture would dilute the dressing). Ten or 15 minutes before serving, add the cabbage to the dressing, toss well and set aside, so the dressing can penetrate the cabbage and soften it slightly. 

I added radish and roasted scallions

Thai Cabbage

A good way to stretch Thai leftovers, but good enough to be an entree. This salad is reminiscent of papaya salad. Use less chili for most people, was perfect for our taste.  Add chopped roasted peanuts next time.  Would also work with shrimp.

I made half this recipe with small changes from the original. Found this on Food.com, but was originally a Weight Watchers recipe.  

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons chili paste with garlic
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tbs peanut oil
• 4 teaspoon peeled minced fresh ginger
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (10 ounce) bags very thinly sliced green cabbage
• 2 cups red bell peppers, cut in strips (or sliced tomatoes)
• 2 cups peeled shredded carrots
• 2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley)

Directions

1. Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl; stir well, set aside.
2. Heat peanut oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.
3. Add ginger and garlic; saute 1 minute.
4. Add cabbage, bell pepper and carrot; saute 2 minutes.
5. Add lime juice mixture; saute an additional 2 1/2 minutes, or until cabbage is tender.
6. Remove from heat and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
7. This makes 7 servings.

Cabbage Wraps

This was derived from Joni's interpretation of a wrap from World Wraps in their early (and tastier) days.

1 block firm tofu
peanut or other light oil

1/2 medium red cabbage
cumin seeds
black pepper
mirin (or rice wine vinegar)
tamari (or soy sauce)
juice & zest of 1 lemon
handful of golden rasins

1 jalapeno, seeded & minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

chopped cilantro leaves

We use our trusty cast-iron pan for this but do not let this dish sit long after cooking.

Cube tofu into  about 0.5 inch dice and fry in oil until lightly browned, then remove from pan.
Slice cabbage into thin strips and saute in pan with spices & raisins.
When cabbage is almost softened to your taste, add garlic & jalapenos with crispy tofu and cook a few more minutes. Adjust seasonings.

Garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve in flour tortillas with pico de gallo.

Indian-Spiced Sauerkraut

This is our first attempt at making sauerkraut since taking the fermentation class over a year ago. In the interim,  friend gave us some wonderful homemade sauerkraut that had Indian style spicing, but we were not successful at getting to recipe. Thanks to the power of Google, we found a recipe to use as a base for experimentation.

Credits: this is from a recipe by Alex Hozven

We bought  3 cabbages from the farmer's market that weighed in at about 6.25 lbs. The original recipe was for 4 lbs so we modified accordingly. I'm listing the original amounts this time since I'm too lazy to change them.

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs green cabbage, sliced coarsely on a mandoline
• 1 Tbs cumin seeds
• 1 Tbs coriander seeds
• 1/2 Tbs fennel seeds
• 1/2 Tbs black peppercorns
• 1 tsp brown mustard seeds
• 1 tsp fenugreek
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 Tbs plus 2 tsp coarse sea salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a very large bowl. Squeeze the cabbage to release some liquid. Press a heavy plate on the cabbage to weigh it down and let stand at room temperature, tossing and squeezing the cabbage 4 or 5 more times, until it has released enough liquid to cover, about 4 hours.
2. Pour the cabbage and its liquid into a clean ceramic crock or tall glass container. Top the cabbage with a clean plate that just fits inside the crock. Place a glass or ceramic bowl on the plate and put a heavy can in the bowl; the cabbage should be completely submerged in its brine by at least a 1/2 inch. Cover the crock with a clean kitchen towel and set it in a cool, dark place to ferment for about 6 weeks.
3. Every 3 days, clean and replace the plate that sits on the cabbage, carefully skimming any foam or mold that forms on the surface of the liquid. Discard the cabbage and its liquid if it's foul-smelling, or if anything brown, moldy or slimy has penetrated below what can easily be scraped off the surface. If too much liquid evaporates before the sauerkraut is sufficiently fermented, dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt in 1 cup of spring water and add it to the crock. When the sauerkraut is ready, it should have a light crunch and a bright, pleasantly tangy taste, with an acidity similar to that of a lemon.

The sauerkraut can be refrigerated in its brine in a glass or ceramic jar for up to 6 months. Drain before serving.

Happy Girl Kitchen - Fermentation Workshop

We had a great time today going to a 'Fermentation Workshop' given by Happy Girl Kitchens. This was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday, and we learned how to make sauerkraut, kimchee and kombucha from our favorite source.

The workshop was given in Oakland in a beautiful old Victorian house.

It was a fun group and they fed us a yummy meal - featuring sauerkraut and kimchee. I'm still on the fence about kombucha, but Wikipedia says there is scientific evidence that drinking it might make your liver more efficient. I'm wondering if maybe the kombucha is just introducing more toxins into your system which could skew the results. Do you know any 100 year+ folks that regularly drink kombucha? I'll try it, but I'm still taking my vitamins.

Here are some pics from the workshop.






We brought home our jars of kimchee & sauerkraut to ferment. The house smells like kimchee, but it will be tasty!