Nothing here takes longer than the cabbage itself. The sauce is mixed before the stove goes on, because once the wok is hot there is no time to measure. Stems and leaves cook separately: the thick white ribs need a full minute of head start or they stay raw against leaves that have already collapsed.
Sichuan-style · Side
Hot and Sour Quick Fried Cabbage, Stems First
Cabbage stems hit the wok a full minute before the leaves, and a vinegar sugar sauce waits on the side so the whole dish comes together over high heat in minutes.
- Prep10 min
- Cook5 min
- Serves2
- LevelEasy
Ingredients
| 400 g | napa cabbage , torn into pieces, ribs and leaves kept apart |
| 15 g | cooking oil |
| 3 cloves | garlic , sliced |
| scallion sections | a short length |
| ginger slices | two or three |
| 2 | dried chilies , broken |
| 1 tbsp | light soy sauce |
| 2 tbsp | vinegar |
| 1 tbsp | oyster sauce |
| 1 g | salt |
| 1 g | chicken bouillon |
| a splash | water , to loosen the sauce |
Method
- Wash the cabbage and drain it well, then tear the leaves from the thick ribs so they can be added at different times.
- Stir the light soy, vinegar, oyster sauce, salt, bouillon and a splash of water together in a small bowl.
- Heat the oil and fry the scallion, ginger, garlic and dried chilies until they smell sharp and toasty.
- Add the ribs only and stir fry for one minute.
- Add the leaves, pour the sauce around the edge of the wok and keep everything moving over high heat.
- As soon as the leaves wilt and the sauce has coated every piece, plate it.
Notes
- Mixing the sauce ahead is not a convenience tip; the one minute window between done and overcooked leaves no time for measuring.
- Tearing instead of cutting keeps the ribs intact and gives the sauce something to cling to.
- Dried chilies should darken but not blacken; burnt chili takes the whole dish with it.
Ratios and technique checked against 食趣先森 on Douguo (醋熘白菜). The method here is written by Stellaok; the photograph is the source kitchen's, credited on the image above and linked back to the page it came from. No recipe text is reproduced.