bits and pieces

Last week, I had a rough stomach flu-like illness, and it really knocked me down hard. I have gradually been getting back to eating more normal foods, but it was a slow process that involved lots of toast and soup, and very little cooking overall.

I’m feeling a lot better this week, so I’ve been trying to get back into my “to cook” pile of clipped and printed recipes. Tonight, I decided to try one from the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine, but considering how it turned out, I would have much rather kept with soup.

The recipe is Chinese Cabbage Stir-fry with Rice Noodles, Pork, and Cilantro (the recipe doesn’t seem to be online yet), and it was in a section about cabbage recipes. What enticed me was the stuffed cabbage recipe, but this one had noodles and it was stir-fry, so it seemed easy enough. I will say that I made a number of changes, based on what I had, but I don’t think it made that big a difference.

Starting off, you saute the cabbage until it wilts a bit, then set it aside and start in with all the savory bits and pork. And after that, you add the spicier bits and noodles, bring back the cabbage, and then stir it all up a bit with lime and some garnish at the end. Not too hard.

As for the differences in my approach, I used different cabbage (Napa instead of Chinese), “fake meat” instead of pork (basically vegetable protein in crumbly form) because I wanted to try it out, and dried cilantro instead of fresh (I just didn’t have it on-hand). Oh, and I used stir fry tea oil instead of vegetable oil, which is almost standard for me now. I used bottled lime juice as well, which I was a little worried about after my lemony linguine disaster, but I went ahead anyway.

Not really as lovely as the photo, but the real problem for me was the spiciness. I don’t like a lot of spice, and the sriracha sauce (and maybe fish sauce too?) was pretty potent. So potent I couldn’t really taste anything else, other than a little bit of lime here and there. The fire in my mouth got a bit too intense, and I just couldn’t eat any more, so I had to stop. And rather than save the leftovers, I just dumped the whole lot, because I knew I wouldn’t bother to reheat it.

Unlike the previous recipe disaster, I think this one at least has some salvageable parts. The basic ingredients are good, and together I think they could be really great. But without the sriracha sauce for a start, and perhaps leaving out the lime juice and fish sauce to see how that is first. That would allow you to taste the main ingredients, but then still have some garlic and ginger too.

Now, I just hope this won’t wreak total havoc on my guts this evening. I don’t need more of that or heartburn right now! :(

Here’s the original recipe for reference:

Chinese Cabbage Stir-fry with Rice Noodles, Pork, and Cilantro
Serves 8

Ingredients

• 4 oz medium flat rice noodles
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 head Chinese cabbage (about 1 1/2 lbs), shredded (8 cups)
• 8 oz ground pork
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp finely grated peeled fresh ginger
• 4 scallions, white and pale-green parts separated, thinly sliced on the bias
• 2 Tbsp Asian fish sauce
• 2 tsp Asian chili sauce, such as Sriracha
• 1 to 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 limes, halved
• Garnish: cilantro sprigs and lime wedges

Preparation

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add noodles; stir, and remove pot from heat. Let stand until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok or Dutch oven over high heat. Add half the cabbage. Sear, pressing with a wooden spoon, until slightly wilted and golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside. Repeat with remaining cabbage.
3. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add remaining tablespoon oil, the pork, garlic, ginger, and white pars of scallions. Cook, stirring constantly, until pork browns, about 1 minute. Stir in fish and chili sauces. Toss in rice noodles and seared cabbage. Add soy sauce to taste. Remove from heat, and add green parts of scallions and the cilantro. Squeeze limes over noodles. Garnish with cilantro, and serve with lime wedges. Serve immediately.