Spicy Napa Cabbage (Chong La Bai Cai)
Spicy Quick-Fried Napa Cabbage (炝辣白菜)
Cut napa cabbage into strips, salt-cure and rinse to remove excess salt, then toss with a sweet-and-sour soy sauce dressing. Top with shredded ginger and chili strips, then drizzle hot oil over the chilies to flash-fry and release their aromatic flavor.
Ingredients
Napa cabbage (remove outer leaves and wash)
1500g
Dried red chili peppers (for frying and slicing into strips)
4
Ginger (julienned)
15g
Sugar
10g
Soy sauce
25g
Sesame oil (for frying chilies)
25g
Fine salt (for pickling)
40g
Vinegar
to taste
Instructions
1
Step 1
Strip the outer leaves from the cabbage, wash it, then cut it straight down into strips about 3 cun (roughly 1 cm) thick. Add the salt and mix well.
2
Step 2
After pickling, lift the cabbage out, rinse off the saltiness with cool boiled water, drain well, and place it in a mixing bowl.
3
Step 3
Dissolve the sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce together, then pour the mixture over the cabbage.
4
Step 4
Julienne two of the dried chilies and the ginger, then sprinkle them over the cabbage.
5
Step 5
Heat the sesame oil and fry the remaining two dried chilies until they turn golden, then pour the hot oil and chilies over the cabbage. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
