Sunday, October 12, 2008

Inspired by cabbage

When I spotted a gorgeous head of Nappa cabbage at the farmers' market, the thought of stir fry quickly filled my mind. Suddenly I could taste the cabbage's earthiness balanced by a sweet and tangy sauce. I grabbed a few market staples, paired them with my pantry staples of canned black beans and brown rice and I had dinner on the table in less than a hour.



Cabbage & carrot stir fry

2 cups brown rice
4 cups water

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
4 carrots, julienned
1 onion, sliced lengthwise
1 pepper, sliced lenghtwise
1/2 head Nappa cabbage, sliced thin
1 cup black beans, canned
4 cloves garlic, slice

Sauce:
1 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. Maine maple syrup
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp. black beans, mashed
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

Combine water and rice on stove. Bring to boil, then cover and reduce heat to low, cook 30-45 minutes until all water is absorbed. Mix sauce ingredients together and set aside. Heat wok or stir fry pan and add olive oil and garlic. Saute 1 minute then add sliced onions. Saute until they begin to soften, then add carrots, peppers and sauce. Stir for 5 minutes. Finally add black beans and cabbage. Cook until cabbage wilts. Spoon stir fry over cooked rice. Serves four.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great use of cabbage. The one time I tried to incorporate cabbage into my stir-fry it was a complete failure. Cabbage and carrots seem to go very well together, though.

Anonymous said...

Oh yum! This sounds like a delicious, wholesome paring indeed!

J said...

I love the sauce paired with this stir-fry, it sounds fantastic. Especially with the extra dose of black beans. What a great way to enjoy cabbage!

Bianca said...

You can't go wrong with a simple stir-fry! It's a tasty way to use the last of the season's market veggies.

Meg Wolff said...

Avery,
This is a wonderful quick,easy and beautiful recipe!! I'm going to try it ... I love Napa and love to stir-fry.