Dear sweet husband brought home a cabbage head the other day and presented it to me as if it were some kind of miracle food, remarking, “Fifty cents for all of this.” Some might have felt he came across a bit like an oil snake salesman; others, that he he was pimping out cabbages. Nonetheless, it was an attractive pitch for a frugal femme. I don’t often prepare cabbage, but how could I resist? And how easy it is to make Cabbage Sriracha.
Jump to RecipeCabbage, in All Its Heat and Humility
While cabbage offers limited nutritional value, it is naturally fat-, cholesterol- and gluten-free and low in sodium. It offers a little potassium and some vitamin C. And since it was hubby’s idea, I decided to make it spicy. I skipped the hot sauces he got for Hanukkah and went straight for the bulk size sriracha I had recently purchased. I had globes of garlic on hand, along with some yellow onion. These ingredients seemed like a good idea for a quick and simple side dish. Just add a little oil to your pan, sauté the onion and garlic, then add cabbage and sriracha, cover and cook until the cabbage wilts. Super easy!
But, I had a thought. I hadn’t cooked with it for a while, and meat-eaters need a reason to eat their veggies—therefore: bacon. I think I could give bacon up, but it would be hard. I have a thing for it. I even have a whole Pinterest board devoted to it called Baconation—I know I’m not alone in my obsessions. The reason I thought of bacon ? A restaurant I follow on instagram (@cafebienville) shared what a customer said: “I’m a vegan and that bacon looks sexy.” At any rate, for the bacon nation, cook the bacon first, then double down and cook the veggies in bacon grease.
About Cabbage Sriracha
What’s not to like about this side dish? It’s low fat, low cholesterol, gluten free and vegetarian with a non-vegetarian splurge option that can be ready in about half an hour or under. And it also tastes great. Hubs said, “Who knew cabbage could taste so good?” Enjoy!
“I remember a time when a cabbage could sell itself by being a cabbage. Nowadays it’s no good being a cabbage – unless you have an agent and pay him a commission. Nothing is free anymore to sell itself or give itself away. These days, Countess, every cabbage has its pimp.”
― Jean Giraudoux
Cabbage Sriracha
Ingredients
- ½ head cabbage sliced
- 1 to 2 medium clove garlic minced
- ½ yellow or white onion diced
- 1 to 3 TBSP sriracha to taste
- 1 to 2 TBSP light olive oil
- OPTIONAL: bacon pieces for topping
Instructions
- Finely chop garlic and dice onion.
- Slice cabbage.
- Place oil into pan and heat to medium.
- Add onion and sauté until onion becomes translucent. Add garlic and heat until aroma releases.
- Add cabbage and and sriracha and heat open for a minute or two.
- Turn heat to low, cover and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- If topping with bacon…. Cook bacon, drain on paper towels, and break into pieces. Set aside. Add to cooked cabbage as a topping. If you cook bacon ahead, you can use bacon grease in lieu of olive oil to cook the cabbage.
- Serve or refrigerate in airtight container.
