Healthy, detox-y, budget-y and delicious spicy Burmese cabbage.
Not Thai (obviously), and not really my recipe either - I found it online and have since adapted it but I think it's originally from one of the Leon cookbooks. However, this is way too good not to share, and it's great to eat this time of year. Clearly I'm not on a detox (should have moved that glass of red out of shot!) but I am on a budget and wanting to eat vegetables and clean, spicy flavours after all the festive gorging on rich foods.
This will serve four as a side dish - I love it just with plain grilled or roasted chicken, but it would also be good as a main course in its own right served with rice.
approx 400g of any cabbage
1/2 - 1 red chilli (a normal one, not a birds eye one!)
a piece of ginger
2-3 cloves of garlic
a few spring onions
around 50g roasted peanuts (or add toasted flaked almonds right at the end)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon fish sauce
100 ml hot water
juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons cooking oil
coriander leaves or, like me, the coriander stalks that I had leftover in the fridge
1. Slice the cabbage thinly and chop the red chilli
2. Chop the spring onions, garlic, ginger and peanuts and set aside in a bowl (they all go in at the same time). I also added the chopped coriander stalks, but if you have leaves these will go in later
3. Pour 100ml hot water into a measuring jug and add the turmeric, stirring until smooth, then add the lemon juice and fish sauce
4. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan and add the cabbage and chilli
5. After 2-3 minutes when the cabbage has just started to wilt, add the spring onions, ginger, garlic and peanuts (and coriander stalks if using) and cook for a further 2-3 minutes
6. Pour in the liquid and cook for a couple of minutes more and if you are using coriander leaves, add these right at the end of the cooking time
7. Taste and add another squeeze of lemon at the end if it needs it
DELICIOUS!
If you try this recipe, do let me know what you think.
