Cabbage rolls, Taiwan and Thai cooking tips
Bring on the cabbage rolls!
Cabbage rolls are a mainstay of European cuisine, especially that of Eastern Europe. My Jewish grandmother from Latvia helped inspire a recipe I developed for a pot-luck Homemakers staff Christmas party.
I can taste them, bathed in their sweet-and-sour tomato sauce, just by thinking of them…mmm. And the same grandmother also made a wickedly good Russian-style cabbage soup that brings my late father to mind with every spoonful; it was his favourite (you must enjoy it with Russian-style dark pumpernickel bread.)
Taiwan-type cabbage
In the mountains of Taiwan, farmers grow a lot of cabbage. In Chinese markets here, you can often see locally grown Taiwan-type cabbage. It's a type of white cabbage, but the heads are quite flat, not round like our typical cabbage. It's a little more tender than regular green or white cabbage and is good for salads and stir-fries, such as Spicy Stir-Fried Cabbage, which can be made with either type.In Taiwan, they also pickle the cabbage as a popular starter or, even more importantly, the topping for the most popular of all Taiwanese street foods, fried stinking tofu (an odiferous snack that is either loved or hated).
Thai cooking tips
In Southeast Asia, cabbage is often cooked in coconut milk- based sauces; try a simple version in our Coconut Vegetables with Fresh Chili Sauce. In Thailand, raw cabbage is popular in a myriad assortment of salads and as a vegetable to be dipped into pungent and spicy fermented fish or shrimp sauces.
Everyone can appreciate cabbage. You can find it in pasta dishes like Pasta with Pancetta and Cabbage and it's often paired with the earthy buckwheat pasta of northern Italy.
Revisit the exciting world of cabbage for its rewarding, wonderful taste and -- thanks to its nutritional value -- perhaps a longer life too!
Andrew Chase is the author of The Asian Bistro Cookbook (Robert Rose, 1997), The Blender Bible (Robert Rose, 2005) and co-author of 400 Blender Cocktails: Sensational Alcoholic And Non-alcoholic Cocktail Recipes (Robert Rose, 2006).
Page 2 of 2
Looking for more great ways to eat healthy vegetables? Check out 10 fruits and vegetables to add to your grocery cart.
Cabbage rolls are a mainstay of European cuisine, especially that of Eastern Europe. My Jewish grandmother from Latvia helped inspire a recipe I developed for a pot-luck Homemakers staff Christmas party.
I can taste them, bathed in their sweet-and-sour tomato sauce, just by thinking of them…mmm. And the same grandmother also made a wickedly good Russian-style cabbage soup that brings my late father to mind with every spoonful; it was his favourite (you must enjoy it with Russian-style dark pumpernickel bread.)
Taiwan-type cabbage
In the mountains of Taiwan, farmers grow a lot of cabbage. In Chinese markets here, you can often see locally grown Taiwan-type cabbage. It's a type of white cabbage, but the heads are quite flat, not round like our typical cabbage. It's a little more tender than regular green or white cabbage and is good for salads and stir-fries, such as Spicy Stir-Fried Cabbage, which can be made with either type.In Taiwan, they also pickle the cabbage as a popular starter or, even more importantly, the topping for the most popular of all Taiwanese street foods, fried stinking tofu (an odiferous snack that is either loved or hated).
Thai cooking tips
In Southeast Asia, cabbage is often cooked in coconut milk- based sauces; try a simple version in our Coconut Vegetables with Fresh Chili Sauce. In Thailand, raw cabbage is popular in a myriad assortment of salads and as a vegetable to be dipped into pungent and spicy fermented fish or shrimp sauces.
Everyone can appreciate cabbage. You can find it in pasta dishes like Pasta with Pancetta and Cabbage and it's often paired with the earthy buckwheat pasta of northern Italy.
Revisit the exciting world of cabbage for its rewarding, wonderful taste and -- thanks to its nutritional value -- perhaps a longer life too!
Andrew Chase is the author of The Asian Bistro Cookbook (Robert Rose, 1997), The Blender Bible (Robert Rose, 2005) and co-author of 400 Blender Cocktails: Sensational Alcoholic And Non-alcoholic Cocktail Recipes (Robert Rose, 2006).
Page 2 of 2
Looking for more great ways to eat healthy vegetables? Check out 10 fruits and vegetables to add to your grocery cart.
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