Chinese red cabbage recipe

This Chinese red cabbage is packed with Asian flavours like soy, sesame, garlic, and ginger. It still has a little bite to it when it’s cooked and goes perfectly with rich meats like duck.

This easy recipe is also good cold and can be packed into lunch boxes quite along with some protein to fill you up – think leftover chicken or tofu. If you like your food spicy, then you can add an extra sprinkling of chilli slices across the top of the cabbage once you’re ready to serve. Chinese red cabbage is a deliciously fragrant alternative to more traditional red cabbage recipes.

Ingredients

• 1.25kg (2 3/4lb) large red cabbage, finely shredded
• 2-3 red chillies, halved, deseeded and chopped
• 1 thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely sliced
• 4 star anise
• 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 5 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 level tbsp caster sugar
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

Method

1. Put all the ingredients, except the spring onions, sesame seeds and sesame oil, into a large pan with a lid and bring to a simmer.
2. Cook over a low heat for 10 minutes, then uncover and cook for a further 15-20 minutes, until the liquid has evaporated.
3. Stir in half the spring onions and half the sesame seeds. Spoon into a large bowl and sprinkle with the rest of the spring onions, sesame seeds and the sesame oil.

Top tips for making this Chinese red cabbage

If you prefer cabbage to have less bite and be a bit softer, add more liquid and cook on a low heat, uncovered, for an extra 20 minutes or so. To bulk up the recipe, stir through some cooked egg noodles and heat through.

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