Best Sweet Cabbage Recipe

Monday, March 10, 2008

Posted by Meg Wolff



Do you like cabbage? Well, here's a sweet and tasty dish that I promise, will make you a cabbage lover!

Cabbage belongs to the cruciferae family of vegetables along with kale, broccoli, collards and Brussels sprouts. According to the George Mateljan Foundation: "Cabbage is an excellent source of vitamin C. It is also a very good source of fiber, manganese, vitamin B6, folate, and omega-3 fatty acids. Cabbage is also a good source of thiamin (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamin A, and protein."

Cruciferous vegetables also contain substances which promote detoxification of the blood and tissues and helps to fight cancer.

My Korean friend once commented that Americans don't have many breakdown foods in their diet. I was curious what she meant. She explained that in Korea they eat a lot of cabbage, scallions, leeks, and daikon which help to break down fat in the body. And I got the picture! The people living in Korea are lean.

This recipe can be cut in half and made as a side dish or you can add one 8-oz package of tempeh and make it a one-pot vegan meal. Or, if you have meat eaters in your family, cooked, cubed ham or organic beef could also be added in place of the tempeh.

THE BEST SWEET CABBAGE
1 head green cabbage, sliced thin
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup raisins (dark or golden)

1 cup water, filtered
2 tablespoons mirin (a Japanese rice wine, I use Mitoku or Eden brand)
1 tablespoon soy sauce (I use Mitoku or Eden brand)
2 tablespoons of tahini (MaraNatha Organic No-Salt Added Raw Sesame Tahini)

2 tablespoons rice syrup (Lundberg Organic)

1/4 cup parsley, fresh chopped

1 8-oz package vegetable tempeh (Lightlife Organic) or meat

1/2 teaspoon sea salt


In a 5-quart stainless steel soup pot, add the olive oil and cabbage. Turn flame to high and after it heats oil turn down to medium-high flame and saute for 5 to 10 minutes. Add water, mirin, soy sauce, tahini, rice syrup, raisins, tempeh (or meat) and sea salt. Bring back to a boil on high flame. Cover, turn to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If liquid reduces during cooking, add slightly more water as not to burn.
Serve garnished with parsley.

Serves 4 to 6



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This Post was written by Meg Wolff from www.becoming-whole.com

10 comments:

Interesting recipe, Meg. I confess that I don't eat cooked cabbage very often -- I have a hard time getting past the aroma of cabbage cooking in the kitchen -- but I do love it raw in slaws. I didn't know that it was a "breakdown" food.

March 10, 2008 at 11:30:00 AM GMT+1  

I love quickly sauteed cabbage and I'm sure I'd love this! Nice post!

Anonymous said...
March 10, 2008 at 1:55:00 PM GMT+1  

Hi Lydia,
I have been making this one as a side dish a lot. My 17 year old loves it ... so that's the real test! :-)

Ann,
If you try it let me know.

Meg Wolff said...
March 10, 2008 at 3:22:00 PM GMT+1  

that's something interesting, and healthy too!:)

Mansi said...
March 10, 2008 at 7:38:00 PM GMT+1  

Like Lydia - I too have a problem with cooked cabbage, but living in Germany and eating sauerkraut every now and then has made me get used to it. I do like the idea of this recipe. Very interesting flavors paired with the cabbage. I would never have paired it with tahini for example.

Meeta K. Wolff said...
March 10, 2008 at 9:26:00 PM GMT+1  

I've always been a cabbage fan myself, but this recipe great -- not your typical cabbage taste.

Okay, I am Meg's sister, but I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't LOVE it!...I believe that even folks on the fussy side will like this one!

Ruthie said...
March 10, 2008 at 10:11:00 PM GMT+1  

Mansi,
It is an interesting and tasty one ...I was surprised myself.

Meeta,
And unusual combination of ingredients.

Ruth,
Thanks I take that as a compliment as you have discerning palate, having had your own restaurant for so many years ... but then again as kids ... I did get you to eat milkweed!

Meg Wolff said...
March 10, 2008 at 10:20:00 PM GMT+1  

Nice! It reminds me of a favourite childhood recipe of sweet cabbage with pasta. I definitely have to try it! Not sure about the raisins though... are they mandatory?

;)

March 11, 2008 at 3:08:00 PM GMT+1  

Hi Jokergirl,
Oh! Cabbage with pasta sounds delicious. Raisins can be optional, my daughter actually picks them out, but devours the rest!

Meg Wolff said...
March 12, 2008 at 3:07:00 PM GMT+1  

Thank you for the tip Meg. I can't wait to check it out. I hope to have some free time soon so I can update my blog again. I have so many pictures of food and recipes just waiting to go up! This recipe sounds tasty. I'll have to give it a try.

Flannery said...
March 18, 2008 at 3:51:00 AM GMT+1  

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