Cabbage

Cabbage? Really?

Image by ubercultureYes. Cabbage. Really.

Cabbage isn't one of those rare ingredients. Everyone knows about it. Most of us use it. Still, most of us use it for one or two things... and that is unfortunate. Cabbage is an incredibly versatile food, and it is particularly great for the winter... when it is one of the few things in season.

Why cabbage? Really, the question is why not cabbage? Cabbage is inexpensive and nutritious. It stores incredibly well. It can also be delicious.

Don't believe me? In the last few weeks, I've used cabbage in the following ways:

• I've roasted it. Cabbage that's been roasted gets nicely crisp and caramelized. It is surprisingly good, and it is hearty enough to work as a main course.
• I've made cole slaw. Have I written a post about cole slaw? No? I need to do that. I make awesome cole slaw. The key is using mayonnaise made with olive oil (either homemade or doctored).
• I've braised it. Braised cabbage is incredibly succulent. It is slightly sweet and very tender. More often, I put cabbage in soup... and end up stewing it, which has a similar effect. This might be my favorite way to eat cabbage.
• I've added it to chicken salad and tuna salad. Cabbage adds a great crunch and flavor accent to both of these.
• The other night we made potstickers. I ground up some chicken and added a bit of soy sauce and a mix of chopped cabbage, green onion, and garlic. This was incredibly easy, by the way.
• I like to keep a bowl of vinegared cabbage and onions on hand. It's a great accent when you just need a bit of a flavor blast.

There are a ton of other things you can do with cabbage. These are just the things that I've actually done with it in the very recent past.

Do you have a favorite way to eat cabbage? ...or questions about cabbage? Leave a comment.

Image by Arnold Gatilao (http://inuyaki.com)I like the idea of chopped salads. I really do. They're like solid soup: all the ingredients are blended together.

That may not have been the best comparison.

Anyway, I like the idea of chopped salads. I occasionally make things that might be considered chopped salads. This spring, I've been making a bunch of vinegared salads using some combination of chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, onions, carrots, and garlic. Still, I almost never order them in restaurants. When I do, I'm usually disappointed.

I was reading about chopped salads in The Kitchn when I realized why: they use iceberg lettuce.

I really don't like iceberg lettuce. I barely consider it a food. I tend not to use lettuce at all at home. On rare occasions, I will pick up some mixed greens, but when I want something green and leafy I will almost always turn to spinach or cabbage. Still, iceberg lettuce retains some structural integrity when chopped, which makes it a recommended choice for chopped salads. The article I was reading recommended endive as another option, and cabbage would clearly work well also.

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese street food that is something like a savory pancake.

Image by WordRiddenNow, if you were to walk up to me last week (before I'd heard of okonomiyaki) and say "savory pancake," I'd have smiled. It is exactly the sort of thing that I would have come up with. The fact that one of the core ingredients of okonomiyaki batter is cabbage makes me even happier. I like cabbage, but it is one of those things that I buy infrequently, as I inevitably end up with more than I can reasonably use before it goes bad. I can pickle the leftovers, but... well... I usually forget to do so in time. I'm always looking for new and different ways to use it.

There are different regional styles of okonomiyaki, but it is usually made to order on a griddle with bowls of raw ingredients from which each person chooses individually. Ingredients or toppings for okonomiyaki are varied, ranging from mayonnaise to seafood to pickled ginger to noodles. The end result is something like a cross between an omelette, a pancake, and a pizza.

To me, this is a great example of why it is important to learn about other cuisines. I may or may not like the mix of flavors in many traditional okonomiyaki preparations, but even if I don't, I can definitely take the form of it and adapt it to my purposes. A cabbage and onion filled pancake-frittata that serves as the basis for toppings? That sounds like the sort of thing that is right up my alley.

Have any topping suggestions?

Today's lunch came together well. Let me tell you its story:

On Saturday, Angela and I were at the grocery store. We decided to pick up something for dinner. Burgers? Sure. We had a jar of pickled beetroot in the cupboard, and we'd been planning on finding out if Australians (who we heard put beets on burgers) are crazy or geniuses. We both like our burgers on the rare side, but I'm wary of pre-ground beef, so I picked up a cheap steak to grind at home.

We needed a side dish. Beet+beef led me to think cabbage. I think it was some sort of weird mental borscht-association.

So, for dinner, we had burgers topped with beets (verdict: better than expected) with some rice (cooked in my electric wok) and red cabbage and onion with soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.

We had a ton of leftover rice/cabbage stuff - not to mention half a head of raw cabbage.

Last night, I tossed some beef bones (from my freezer, bought at our local Asian grocery) and some vegetable scraps into a pot and made some stock. I used a slotted spoon to pull out the veggie scraps and stuck the pot in the refrigerator.

Today, when I came home for lunch, I pulled out the pot of stock and skimmed the beef fat off the top. I put the fat into a little bowl - no sense in wasting it. I chopped up a bit more cabbage and a carrot and sauteed them in some of the fat in my cast iron frying pan while I heated up the stock. I added the leftover rice and cabbage, and poured some of the stock into it, letting it absorb like a risotto. I repeated this a couple of times (tasted it... added a bit of fish sauce...) then I cracked an egg into the pan. I finished it off with a bit of sweet chili sauce. The result was some sort of mutant cross between bibimbop, fried rice, and risotto. It was really, really good. The flavored rice and cabbage added some depth that contrasted nicely with the fresher taste of the carrot, and the beefy goodness of the broth brought it all together.

I still have about half a head of cabbage and most of the beef broth in my refrigerator. That will probably turn into dinner tomorrow or Wednesday. Oh, I also saved the beef fat. It will keep for a bit and should be good for flavor reinforcement.

Sometimes I love the way that efficiency can flow in the kitchen. It is something I need to work on more. I have a bad tendency to forget about leftovers that I should be thinking of as ingredients for future meals.