Can we talk Cabbage?

[Greg Who Cooks]

How could I have forgotten bok choi???

Mebbe cuz it's so often called pak choi nowadays.

There's so many vegetables I never heard of in Asian markets that I doubt if I'll ever be able to try them all, by the time I figure out what they are and how to use them. I'm particularly confused because one of my favorite Asian markets is Korean, another is Vietnamese, and they don't even always call the same vegetable the same thing. Nor do they always have an English name. I'm still trying to figure out what some of them are.

I just discovered some of my notes! Here's some of the Cabbage family (Brassica):

bok choy = Chinese cabbage / snow cabbage = Brassica rapa subspecies or B. campestris

kai lan - Alboglabra group of Brassica oleracea ... Pak kana in Thai

gai choi = mustard greens / green mustard cabbage = Brassica juncea

yu choi = rapeseed / oil vegetable (in Chinese) = Brassica napus

Of course I didn't include any of the well known ones, broccoli, cabbage, Napa cabbage, etc.


Here's a few that aren't Brassica but hope nobody will mind me including them. I particularly like the garlic chives.

ong choi = water spinach = Ipomoea aquatica

ngo gai = culantro = Eryngium foetidum (Vietnam) (pak chi farang in Thai)

bu chu (Korean) - garlic chives - Allium tuberosum

 

[babetoo]

my cabbage and carrots last night were wonderful. alas and alack i forgot that while i like cabbage, it does not like me back. bad night stomach wise. so far can still eat brussel sprouts.

 

[TATTRAT]

Pak??? Not in Los Angeles. YMMV

Bok choy, is how westerners pronounce Pak choi.

You will see the baby Bok Choy more often referred to as Shanghai pak ckoi, or mei quin choy . .but it's all the same. . .DELICIOUS!

 

[Claire]

I always love to interject odd food stories. A friend planted seeds hoping for baby bok choi. We had a hugely wet early summer. Her bok choi never came up. She just shrugged, that's life, that's gardening. As with most of us in Galena, we live on sides of hills, very few of us have level property. In the fall, she looked at her lawn before mowing it. Those weeds? Baby bok choi. Tons of it. Her lawn was full of it. The seeds she'd planted in her vegetable garden, uphill of her lawn, had washed down in the rains into her lawn. We had great fun with it. I made some kimchee and some stir fries.

 

[spork]

Great thread. Even more so than say, carrots and celery, cabbages is the one vegetable that I always have in my refrigerator. An acquaintance will be gifting me a bag of bok choi day after tomorrow. He has a plot of garden at the local community college, says that he pays about $100 a year for its collective resources. I should start searching for recipes today...

 

[Addie]

Wow. This thread has just about covered every aspect of cabbage. Is there anything left to cover?

 

[CharlieD]

If you care to dig. There was a thread her, on the site, raher recipe for Polish bigos, it is to die for.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Another nice thing about cabbage is that all kinds tend to last a long time in the refrigerator.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

All i can say about this thread is (frum roll please), Great stuff! You all do DC proud with this one (and most other topics as well). Just don't forget about the humble, yet deliscous cousin to the cabbage, rutabegga.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Addie]

This has been a very interesting thread.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Here's a recipe that I think came from one of my Chinese or Thai cookbooks. Unfortunately my cookbooks are in storage and I didn't take notes on this recipe, so here it is as best as I can recall it.

What surprised me is that I had thought this recipe would turn out spicy but it didn't.

Quarter a whole ordinary cabbage, cut out the stems, cut the remainder into about 2"x2" pieces. Heat a few tablespoons of toasted sesame oil in a wok and saute the cabbage a while, then add some liquid (probably water) and cover and steam until cabbage is tender, salt it and serve. The quantity of water is just sufficient to ensure steam and some liquid on the bottom, do not fully immerse.

Sorry about the vague recipe. I'll cook this again hopefully one day soon when I have my kitchen back and I'll report a more exact version.

I'm still amazed that it didn't turn out spicy. As you can guess it did have a unique flavor. The spiciness in the toasted sesame oil seemed to have mellowed out.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

The sesame oil I have has no spicyness to it at all, it's just tastes like toasted sesame seeds. Where is the spice coming from???

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Then I used the wrong word. I meant strong tasting. Toasted sesame oil has a strong taste to me. Maybe it's just me. Anyway I like it.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Ah! Yes, it does have a strong flavor...one I really like. I'd wear it as perfume, but Shrek REALLY likes it too.

 

[vitauta]

i'm very pleasantly surprised at the ginormous response to this cabbage thread. just because we don't rave about it all the time like we do about certain other more glamorous vegetables, doesn't mean that we don't have a quiet, deep appreciation of our dear cabbage heads. just reading through the huge outpouring of responses to this cabbage thread is heart-warming as well as it is informative and hunger-inducing....

 

[Addie]

Ah! Yes, it does have a strong flavor...one I really like. I'd wear it as perfume, but Shrek REALLY likes it too.

Oh Dear! Just close the door behind you.

 

[Claire]

I, too, do not find sesame seed "spicy". Just nutty. I'd add some pepper flakes or sauce.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I'll be very surprised if many people in US outside of L.A. have seen gailan in their markets. I've seen it in only a very few Asian markets here in L.A. (San Fernando Valley area).

I always find it funny how New Yorkers and Angelenos think they have the market cornered on this or that, and that us rubes in other parts of the country just don't get out much.

I see Gailan (aka Kai-Lan, Chinese Broccoli, Thai Broccoli) all the time here in the Minneapolis area, both in farm markets and co-ops. But then again, I believe Minnesota has the second or third largest Hmong population outside of southeast Asia. In fact, 60% of the Hmong in the US live in the upper midwest. We have access to a huge variety of Asian ingredients.

 

[KAYLINDA]

We serve corned beef and cabbage daily on our buffet. The great thing is, that cabbage cooks so easily in the microwave. Just cover with water and whatever flavorings you like, and it's done in about 10 minutes. I can't wait to try the recipe above that uses evaporated milk....it sounds like a winner!

 

[HistoricFoodie]

Is there anything left to cover?

Surely you jest, Addie? We've barely scratched the surface. Haven't even covered the leafy parts fully. And, as Chief Longwind notes, there are the root-veggie relatives; rutabaga (sweedes); turnips; radishes. etc. And, OMG! Brussels sprouts. Where are the Brussels sprouts recipes.

But even if we confine ourselves to cabbagge per se, there's a long way to go. F'rinstance, here's a slaw variation we like. It was passed on to me by a friend.

Marinated Red and Green Cabbage

3 1/2 ckups each, shredded red and green cabbage
2 large carrots, shredded
1 large red onion, sliced thin
2 tbls minced fresh gingerroot
1 cup cider vinegar
A handful of sultanas or golden raisins
3 tbls honey
2 tbls extra virgin olive oil
3 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias
Salt and pepper to taste

Pour an inch or so of wather into a large pot. Fit a steamer in place and bring the water to a boil. Load the steamer with the cabbage and carrots, cover tightly, and steam the veggies for about five minutes. Drain them well and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the onions, ginger and vinegar, toss to coat, and set aside to marinate at least four hours or up to overnight.

Squeeze the megetables a handful at a time over a saucepan, transtering the drained vegetables to a bowl.

Boil the marinade liquid over high heat until it is reduced to a halp cup. Add the raisins, remove from heat, and let cool. Whisk in the honey, oil, and salt. Pour over the drained vegetables and stir in the scallions and black pepper.

Can be swerved either chilled or at room temperature.

One nice thing about this recipe: Because it doesn't use mayo it is a good choice for picnics and other outdoor eating.