Shousi Bao Cai (Hand-Torn Cabbage)
By Kelly SongPublished on December 19, 2024
Time
20 minutes
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
This dish traditionally uses Taiwanese flat cabbage (also called white cabbage or bao cai), which has an oblong shape, delicate leaves, and a slightly sweet flavor. Taiwanese cabbages can range in weight from about 2 pounds to 6 pounds; if you can’t find a 2-pound head, use a portion of a larger head. You can substitute a 2-pound head of green cabbage, but be sure to discard the tough outermost leaves. We like to make this dish with our Sichuan Peppercorn Oil, but you can substitute vegetable oil. You can use a 12-inch cast-iron skillet in place of a wok. You can use rice vinegar in place of black vinegar. This recipe moves quickly; it’s a good idea to have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go before you start cooking.
Instructions
- Peel whole leaves from base of cabbage; discard stem and core. Using your hands, tear cabbage crosswise against veins into rough 2-inch pieces (pieces of cabbage should be craggy and rough-edged); discard any bottom stems thicker than ⅛ inch.
- Heat empty 14-inch flat-bottomed wok over high heat until just smoking. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil around perimeter of wok and heat until just smoking. Add half of chiles and half of garlic and cook, stirring constantly with wok spatula or wooden spoon, until chiles are darkened and garlic is light golden, about 30 seconds.
- Add half of cabbage and cook, stirring constantly and scraping up any garlic and chiles at bottom of wok, until cabbage is just beginning to soften and edges of leaves are translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle cabbage with ¾ teaspoon salt and stir to evenly combine. Drizzle 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon vinegar around perimeter of wok and cook, stirring constantly, until leaves are evenly coated, about 30 seconds. Transfer cooked cabbage to serving platter.
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 with remaining oil, chiles, garlic, cabbage, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar; transfer to platter. Serve.
Time
20 minutesYield
Serves 4 to 6Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Hand-torn cabbage (or shousi bao cai in Mandarin) originates from the Chinese province of Sichuan and is now a popular vegetable side dish throughout China and the United States. While green cabbage works well in this dish, it is traditionally made with Taiwanese cabbage, which has sweeter, more tender leaves. As the name suggests, the leaves are torn by hand into large, craggy pieces to promote textural interest and quick wilting. We stir-fried the leaves in a wok over high heat with Sichuan peppercorn oil, chopped garlic, and dried chiles—all traditional ingredients in this dish. We cooked the cabbage in two batches to prevent overcrowding and steaming; keeping the leaves dry encouraged smoky flavors and tender-crisp textures. Salting the cabbage later in the cooking process prevented too much water from being drawn out of the leaves, which would also lead to soggy cabbage. To finish, we drizzled soy sauce and Chinese black vinegar around the perimeter of the wok; the salty-sweet seasonings evaporated quickly and clung to the cabbage leaves without pooling at the bottom of the wok. Serve the cabbage with rice for a flavorful side dish that’s worthy of weeknight meals and dinner parties alike.
Before You Begin
This dish traditionally uses Taiwanese flat cabbage (also called white cabbage or bao cai), which has an oblong shape, delicate leaves, and a slightly sweet flavor. Taiwanese cabbages can range in weight from about 2 pounds to 6 pounds; if you can’t find a 2-pound head, use a portion of a larger head. You can substitute a 2-pound head of green cabbage, but be sure to discard the tough outermost leaves. We like to make this dish with our Sichuan Peppercorn Oil, but you can substitute vegetable oil. You can use a 12-inch cast-iron skillet in place of a wok. You can use rice vinegar in place of black vinegar. This recipe moves quickly; it’s a good idea to have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go before you start cooking.
Instructions
- Peel whole leaves from base of cabbage; discard stem and core. Using your hands, tear cabbage crosswise against veins into rough 2-inch pieces (pieces of cabbage should be craggy and rough-edged); discard any bottom stems thicker than ⅛ inch.
- Heat empty 14-inch flat-bottomed wok over high heat until just smoking. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil around perimeter of wok and heat until just smoking. Add half of chiles and half of garlic and cook, stirring constantly with wok spatula or wooden spoon, until chiles are darkened and garlic is light golden, about 30 seconds.
- Add half of cabbage and cook, stirring constantly and scraping up any garlic and chiles at bottom of wok, until cabbage is just beginning to soften and edges of leaves are translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle cabbage with ¾ teaspoon salt and stir to evenly combine. Drizzle 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon vinegar around perimeter of wok and cook, stirring constantly, until leaves are evenly coated, about 30 seconds. Transfer cooked cabbage to serving platter.
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 with remaining oil, chiles, garlic, cabbage, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar; transfer to platter. Serve.
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