Title: Hot and Sour Cabbage
Categories: Vegetables
Yield: 4 servings
5 ea Napa cabbage leaves 1 tb thin soy sauce
3 tb peanut oil 1/2 tb rock sugar
4 ea large dried chili peppers 1/2 tb Chinkiang vinegar
1/2 tb Szechuan peppercorns 1 ts sesame oil
1/2 ts salt
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Preparation: Separate, wash & dry cabbage leaves. Stack them up and cut
them crosswise into 1" wide pieces. Finely mince or grind Szechuan
peppercorns. Crush rock sugar with cleaver handle; mix with soy sauce;
reserve.
Stir-frying: Heat wok to moderate; add oil. Wait 30 seconds. Stir-fry
whole chilis until they just blacken; quickly add peppercorns. When they
exude pungent odor, push up side of wok and raise heat to high. Add salt &
cabbage all at once. Keep tossing cabbage until it is wilted & soft. This
takes several minutes. There should be about 2 T of water in wok when
cabbage is wilted.
Add sugar & soy mixture. When sugar has melted, toss with cabbage, then
sprinkle vinegar over all. Keep tossing on high heat for another 20
seconds. Add sesame oil; toss briefly; remove to serving dish. If serving
this dish cold, wait until it has cooled, then cover & refrigerate.
