Cabbage Soup!

Hi Everyone!  My wife taught me a new chinese recipe last night.  It doesn’t sound good, but it is definitely very pleasing to my western palate!  She calls it “Huang Ya Cai Rou Si,” but I just call it “Cabbage Soup!”  It is the best soup I’ve ever had!

Chinese Cabbage Soup

We were lounging around after a long day on the river yesterday.  Feeling a bit dehydrated by the sun, we started discussing the importance of electrolytes in hydration, and she told me that in addition to making it taste good, it’s one reason why they add seasonings to so many chinese soups.

I asked her to teach me how to make that “soup” that I love so much, and so we jumped up for an impromptu lesson!

Here’s what I came up with.

Ingredients:

Spicy Chili Crisp

• 1 head of napa cabbage
• A little cooking oil – any kind
• 1 Tbsp chicken broth powder
• 1/4 lb pork
• pepper – optional
• spicy chilli crisp – optional

Directions:

1. Chop pork into 1/4 inch X 2 inch strips and saute until cooked.
2. Take leaves off cabbage, wash them, and cut them into 3 inch X 3 inch pieces
3. Add oil to the bottom of a large pot, until just covering the bottom
4. Add cabbage and saute on highest heat until cabbage becomes a little softer than ‘al dente’.
5. Add 1 Tbsp chicken broth powder
6. Add cooked pork
7. Season to taste using pepper or spicy chilli crisp, which is a red oily seasoning with red peppers and other seasonings inside – it comes in a small jar and you can find it (or something like it) at most asian supermarkets. it only takes a half teaspoon to add flavor, or a bit more if you want to make it spicy.

It was surprising to me that there is actually enough moisture in the cabbage to self steam it.  You do not need to add water, in fact, you may find that you prefer to pour some out!  It just depends how soupy you want it.  It is equally good as a soup or a vegetable, so add or discard water as desired.

Additionally, you will need something temperature resistant to stir the cabbage as it is cooking.  We recommend Cooking Chopsticks from The Chopstick Store due to their length, strength, and resistance to high temperature.

So, if you are tired of Panda Express and all of the fake chinese food in the US, or if you don’t know what real chinese food is really like, this is a great way to start out!  If you try it, let us know how what you think!