Sichuan hot and sour cabbage

Name: Sichuan hot and sour cabbage
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 18 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 700 g pointed or flat cabbage; 8 dried red chillies; 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns; 3 garlic cloves, sliced; 3 tbsp neutral oil; 2 tbsp Zhenjiang black vinegar; 1 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 tsp sugar; ½ tsp salt

Local name : 炝炒莲白

Flat cabbage torn by hand and seared over high heat with dried chillies, Sichuan pepper and Zhenjiang black vinegar.

Vegan#cabbage#sichuan#wok#vinegar#chilli

Photo : CHENG SHIYI · CC0

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 8 min
Total: 18 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy

Method

Tear the cabbage by hand into 5 cm pieces. Ragged edges hold sauce better than knife-cut ones.
Dry the pieces in a tea towel. Wet cabbage drops the temperature of the wok.
Halve the chillies and shake out the seeds. Stir the vinegar, soy sauce and sugar together in a bowl.
Heat the dry wok until it smokes, pour in the oil, then drop in the chillies and Sichuan pepper. Stir for 15 seconds.
Add the garlic, then the cabbage and salt. Stir-fry over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until the edges brown and the stems stay firm.
Pour the sauce down the hot side of the wok, toss for 30 seconds and serve with white rice.

Pouring vinegar down the side of the wok rather than into the middle flashes it off for a split second before it lands on the cabbage, which concentrates the aroma. Tamari replaces the soy sauce to avoid gluten.

Nutrition · per serving

Calories: 161 kcal
Protein: 3.4 g
Fat: 10.7 g
Carbohydrate: 15.6 g
Fibre: 5.2 g

An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.

Frequently asked questions

Why tear the cabbage instead of slicing it?

The ragged, crumpled edges catch the sauce, where a clean cut lets it slide off. Tearing also follows the leaf's fibres, so the pieces stay firmer in the wok than slices cut across them.

My cabbage releases water and boils instead of frying. Why?

The cabbage is wet, the wok is not hot enough, or both. Dry the pieces thoroughly in a cloth, heat the dry wok until it smokes before adding oil, and cook in two batches if your burner is modest.

Do I really need Zhenjiang black vinegar?

It is rounder and mellower than white vinegar, with a malty note that balances the chilli. Failing that, a not-too-sweet balsamic cut with a little rice vinegar comes close. Avoid plain spirit vinegar, which is too harsh here.

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