Is there anything more wonderful than your whole living space being filled with the most pleasing scents coming from the kitchen? And is there anything more comforting than enjoying a dish making you reminiscent of your childhood, when the world was still alright?
Probably not. So, in order to fulfill both those criteria, I recreated a dish my mom used to make, and spiced it up a little. The result was this.
My mom always used to cook a lot of fresh vegetables (she still does), and in winter, she sometimes chopped up a whole white cabbage and rosted it in butter with just salt and pepper, as a vegetable side dish. This on its own is awesome already, and it features this lovely quality of cabbage dishes that they get better every time you heat them up again. However, if you also add ginger, galgant, garam marsala, cloves, and star anise, you will receive the most wonderful flavors! You can get all the spices you need for this dish at an Asian supermarket.
FRAGRANT WHTE CABBAGE
4-6 servings
Ingredients
butter or oil
2 large onions, peeled and sliced
1 tsp fresh gingerroot, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp fresh galgant root, peeled and finely chopped
1 medium-sized head of white cabbage, chopped
1/2 tbsp dried chili flakes
1 tbsp ground garam marsala
1 pinch of ground cloves
6 whole star anise
2 tbsp soy sauce
Directions
Heat some fat in a large pot and fry the onions, ginger, and galgant until fragrant. Add the shredded cabbage and roast for a minute while stirring, then add a little water and season with chili, garam marsala, cloves, star anise, and soy sauce. Let everything stew for about 30 minutes on low to medium heat, covered, then enjoy this together with a nice main dish of your choice.
Which childhood dishes do you like to recreate? And have you ever put your personal twist on it? (If not, I highly recommend to try that! )
