“Cabbage: a familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as a man’s head” —Ambrose Bierce
I like cabbage. What can I say? It is not very sexy or fascinating. It just is what it is. But I like it. I like it with New England Boiled Dinner and I like it cooked to death in butter. I like it raw in salads like the Blue Cheese Cole Slaw and I like it as a garnish as in the Crispy Black Bean Tacos.
It is versatile and cheap and it is good for you. This is another little gem heavily inspired by a recent recipe in Everyday Food, one of the most useful cooking magazines for people who need to get dinner on the table night after night. The recipes are practical, diverse, and usually simple. This is a simple sauté of onions and cabbage that is then stewed in a sweet and savory sauce for a bit. It takes about 30 minutes, start to finish, and it doesn’t require too much oversight. If you are looking for a new side that performs admirably with pork or chicken dishes, this is a good one.
Preparation:
2 to 3 teaspoons vegetable oil
5 slices of bacon, cut into small bits
1 cup of chopped onions
1 medium head of green cabbage, cored and cut into 1 inch pieces
¼ cup rice vinegar (or cider vinegar)
¼ cup sugar (or brown sugar)
3 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
Heat the oil in a heavy pot and cook the bacon until it is crisp. Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate. In the remaining drippings, sauté the onions and cabbage. Stir frequently and cook for about 10 minutes until the cabbage is a bit wilted and has cooked down. Combine the vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce in small bowl and then add it to the cabbage. Cook the cabbage for an additional 10 minutes, or until it is softened but still a little firm. Stir in the bacon and serve.
Note: Bacon can be a mess to try to slice before cooking. Consider using your kitchen shears to cut it. Another alternative is to freeze the bacon for 10 or 15 minutes before slicing it. Also, I note that you can use brown sugar because my mom reminded me that she used to make a very similar dish but with brown sugar instead of white. It made me wish I had made it with brown sugar to begin with, and explained why I like this recipe so much. Apparently I had it served to me as a kid. Of course, I probably turned up my nose at it. Sorry mom….sorry I didn’t remember and sorry I was such a picky pain.
This looks so good! I’m going to try it this weekend. Thanks!
I have a head of cabbage at home that I have been wondering what to do with. Fortunately, I have all of the other ingredients on hand as well. This will be dinner tonight – Thanks.
I’ll make it! Thanks.
Kelly, this has nothing to do with the cabbage dish. I have a question, How in the
heck do you get that little bit of sinew from the chicken tenders. I just mangle the
tenders, Cuzzin Sally
How cute is your little guy :) This sweet & sour cabbage looks awesome!
We would love if you submitted this recipe & any two other side dishes to this week of the Get Grillin’ event that Cookin’ Canuck and I am hosting :)
Made this for dinner – even the 14 yo would eat it and he doesn’t like anything green! Honestly, I like raw cabbage but have never been a fan of it cooked but this was excellent.
thanks for another way of fixing cabbage, I love most any recipe with cabbage.
Charlotte…me too…you are welcome.
Sally. I usually cook tenders to chop up anyway, so I just leave them in and then chop off the end of the tender (working around it to keep all of the meat). I see people clean them by just pulling them out but I tend to mangle them a bit when I try. I find that the part sticking out is the only part that is really objectionable to me, so when I am leaving them whole on occasion, I will just take my shears and cut it down in the meat as deep as I can without messing everything up and then go on about my business. I use them so much for situations where I am chopping them up anyway that the tendon is rarely an issue. Not a very good answer, I know. Cooking them with it in causes them to become a little misshapen, but again, b/c I’m chopping them up anyway…no problem. (Sorry this took me so long)
I LOVE THIS!!! my mom made this all the time and it is the best. only i switch green cabbage for red sometimes.