Can we talk Cabbage?

Ok, a confession - I love cabbage. Can't really blame me being of part Irish and German descent.

I do ok cooking it, but I know it can be done better. How you may ask?

True story - got sent to Paris once on business (of COURSE hubby came along to keep me out of trouble). You know those ****** 12+ hour flights with no space and crappy food? Yep, cheap seats for us. Got to our hotel, dumped our bags and went in search of sustenance. I don't even remember the time shift it was so crappy, but it was mid afternoon Parisian time on Sunday when we got there.

Found this little storefront place and got their daily special. Prix Fix. Glass of wine, nicely roasted chicken half, and some of the most sublime braised cabbage known to mankind (hubby ate my dessert, I ate his cabbage - we each thought we got the better of the deal) plus dessert.

I have tried to come close to that cabbage, and over 15+ years later have failed to do so.

Funny thing is, when I met with my French co-workers the next day they asked about my first dining experience in Paris and I started to joyfully tell them about it, only to see their eyes widen in horror and apologize for not finding me something better than a "truck stop". :eyebrow:

Nother thing I remember, it was cheaper to get a decent bottle of wine than a 2 liter of coke.

After Paris I really got an appreciation of how poorly most American places do veggies. So, please help me find the best braised cabbage out there!

And seriously?!? Sh!tty gets bleeped out?

TheCaptain said:

And seriously?!? Sh!tty gets bleeped out?

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Maybe the forum recognizes the horror of 12 hours packed in the cheap seats and is trying to help out, because honestly Sh!tty just doesn't capture the pain.

I was thinking 7 letter word....perhaps more on the descriptive side.

Focus people, cabbage 😁

Best thing to do with a green cabbage (i usually use savoy) is to not to over cook it. Keep it green, please. You can sweat some small lardons to start with and add some butter to make it luxurious, but you can just keep it simple. Big glass of water, salt, pepper heaof savoy cabbage shredded, lid on and by the time water evaporated the cabbage is cooked.
Kale takes less than a minute (as long as you rip 'em off the stalk).
For the braised white cabbage i sautee some chopped onions, then add paprika, whole cumin, salt, pepper, shredded cabbage, some water and a splash of vinegar.
For home made 'sauerkraut' just cabbage and salt, then compress it and leave it.
For the braised red cabbage i caramelise some sugar, then add cabbage, red wine, some cinnamon, salt, pepper. Some people do add apples, raisins, honey and all sorts of things, but i don't like to overcomplicate it.
Bok choy is good for stir-fries.
There are so many cabbage and so many ways to do them.

TheCaptain said:

Focus people, cabbage 

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You started it.......

Chitty indeed.

Savoy? Does the old school way of "cream (or coconut milk!), broth, white wine, bacon (or smoked tofu!), nutmeg. Don't drown it but do give it a swimming lesson" count?

savoy +1
chix stock instead of water, lots of butter, pancetta or guanciale, fresh thyme and bay leaf, onions leeks garlic shallot, white wine & sherry vinegar, sugar, caraway & celery seed

panda said:

savoy +1
chix stock instead of water, lots of butter, pancetta or guanciale, fresh thyme and bay leaf, onions leeks garlic shallot, white wine & sherry vinegar, sugar, caraway & celery seed

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I do something similar but usually with fewer ingredients...imo caraway is required.

As an aside I've been making a variety of cole slaws to accompany all the fish I've been eating...I love cabbage...

Leek, ginger, white cabbage, brown sugar, sesame oil, powdered dashi, mirin. Sweat it.. keep moving with a splash of water if the mirin is all evaporated and it gets too sticky. Flavour bomb

Make a temper of vegetable oil with mustard and cumin seeds. When they pop, add garlic, curry leaves and turmeric & green chilli. Cook for 30 secs before adding 3cups of shredded white cabbage and a good bit of salt. Sweat until soft. Stir through sugar, crushed coriander seed and chilli powder to taste. Eyes roll back in head

Take hardest whitest parts of white cabbage. Serve ice cold with bowl of kewpie for dipping

@Badgertooth Oh, I thought I was the only one here that appreciated thorans (at least your method sounds like one, minus the coconut) of all kinds

For the rest: That will end up similar to the chard dish (made with just that method!) I recently posted on the photo thread. All that is good and unholy, get fresh curry leaves when you can (they freeze), the dried stuff is nearly useless.

Badgertooth said:

Leek, ginger, white cabbage, brown sugar, sesame oil, powdered dashi, mirin. Sweat it.. keep moving with a splash of water if the mirin is all evaporated and it gets too sticky. Flavour bomb

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This is a thing?!? Didn't know it existed (but is now sitting in my Amazon cart). I keep white and red miso in the fridge but never heard of this until now.

And thanks for all the suggestions, I knew you guys would come through for me. Some really creative suggestions I would not think of on my own.

Growing up we boiled cabbage into submission until the sulfur compounds came out and it was grey and mushy. Somehow I can even appreciate that, although I think your ideas will be much tastier. :doublethumbsup:

TheCaptain said:

This is a thing?!? Didn't know it existed (but is now sitting in my Amazon cart). I keep white and red miso in the fridge but never heard of this until now.

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i have it..didnt realize it's powdered dashi..

we are talking about HonDashi right?

Yes? At least I think so:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000CNU0C/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Badger - is this what you're using?

I like to sweat it in butter and add S&P, a little nutmeg, and a pinch or so of sugar if needed.

And don't forget colcannon.

We eat a lot of it in salad and slaws, too. Toss some shredded in our stir fried veggies. Great shredded in soups & stews. Use it on tacos instead of lettuce.

Love cabbage at our house.

Sukiyaki. Chinese or Napa Cabbage. Quick and easy weeknight meal.

Doug said:

Sukiyaki. Chinese or Napa Cabbage. Quick and easy weeknight meal.

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i do love that meal..napa cabbage for sure.

the french meal was probably braising the cabbage with the chicken and let the dripping really do the work.

For the most part I find that doing some sort of broth, seasoning of choice, with a meat and cooking all together a long time. I've done sausages, chicken and chuck. Except a japanese curry I just made, I'm sure one can make a good cabbage curry but I have not.

I remember my first great cabbage too. It was in Napa and at a michelin 2 star, I got a pork chop with cabbage. Cabbage was on the menu. At a two star. I thought it better be the best cabbage ever and it was amazing. I dream of this cabbage.

Cabbage (napa cabbage) certainly can work in thai or chinese/vietnamese style curry - the thinner, umami-oriented stuff...

When I am cooking something meat orientated (like roasts or similar) I just cook half or a quarter of the head of cabbage in boiling water. It is great just cooked with nothing added. It goes so good with meat.

I grew up on shredded raw green cabbage salad doused in red vinegar oil salt and lots of black pepper. You can also soak the shredded cabbage in cold water to lower the sulfur smell taste and it crisps it too.

On the todo list: Make a good vegetarianized version of Lion's Head

napa cabbage for stir fry,
green cabbage for corned beef and cabbage,
red cabbage for homemade coleslaw.

...... I like to think of brussel sprouts as "minnie cabbage".
good cooked in cast iron skillet with bacon and onions.
or roasted ( baked in oven), also good in soup:addsalt:

Cabbage brings my grandma to mind. Green cabbage, green bell pepper,white onion all shredded with white vinegar, salt, sugar and black pepper. One day in the fridge at least before eating. Crisp and refreshing.

Anyone like cabbage should try a new varieties call "Taiwanese Cabbage". It developed recently in Taiwan, which have dominated the markets in Taiwan and Southten Asia due to the great taste/ quality. Taiwanese Cabbage are very sweet, tender, well flavored & no hard fiber. You can find Taiwanese Cabbage in the Oriental markets on the West Coast.

This looks like (and the description sounds like) a bastard of a napa cabbage and an iceberg lettuce...