Spicy cabbage with black beans and fish sauce

I have had a cabbage lurking in the bottom of my fridge for a couple of weeks now, looking accusingly at me out of the salad tray from time to time. Fortunately it was plastic-wrapped and was able to remain fresh while I got round to deciding what to do with it.



Cabbage on its own can be a bit boring (or even composty), so I think it benefits from strong flavours. I guess this is the thinking behind sauerkraut, and this is a sort of oriental version. It's quite salty and hot, and the black beans give it a slightly smoky flavour.

Ingredients
vegetable oil
1 green cabbage
3 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of black beans
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
1 tablespoon of chilli sauce

Method

1. Remove the core and cut the cabbage into fine strips. Chop the garlic. Rinse the black beans in water to remove some of the salt, and chop.
2. Fry the garlic in some vegetable oil for 30 seconds or so, add the black bean sauce and fry for a few seconds more, then add the cabbage, fish sauce and chilli sauce, stir well, cover and cook gently until the cabbage is cooked but still has a little bite. (Around 10 minutes).

Small is beautiful
Here is my kitchen, complete with laptop on the left and empty beer bottle on the right.