Check this out! At this point you know I’m one of these cabbage obsessed weirdos, so when this Caramelized Cabbage recipe went viral (in my world) I knew I wanted to try my hand at slow-roasted cabbage this way. I took a decidedly Asian twist, choosing my make my own quick *and spicy* peanut sauce to braise the cabbage in.
SHOPPING LIST: 1 green cabbage, crunchy peanut butter, cup soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, garlic chili sauce, olive oil salt, pepper, garlic powder
For the peanut sauce, you are going to mix together 2 heaping tB. of crunchy peanut butter, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of sesame oil, 3 tB. rice wine vinegar, 3 tB. of garlic chili sauce (USE LESS if you don’t want it spicy spicy). If you have trouble mixing your peanut butter, you could always pop it into microwave for 20-30 seconds to get it softer. I purposely chose crunchy peanut butter so it would add a nice crunch to the finished, soft cabbage. Season your peanut sauce with salt, pepper and garlic powder and reserve.
Take your whole green cabbage and then trim the core and remove any outer leaves that have started to turn color. Slice completely though the core and divide your whole cabbage into 4 equal quarters. Rub the cabbage quarters in olive oil and give them an even sprinkle of salt and pepper (sometimes I get worried about cooking large bulks of veg like this that it won’t get properly seasoned or softened in the inside). Get out your trusty cast iron skillet and arrange your cabbage quarters inside. I could only fit 3 in mine, and then smother the cabbage in your homemade peanut sauce like so:
Hopefully it looks something like this! The excess sauce will pool to the bottom of your skillet and that’s OK. You want some of the liquidy sauce to coat the bottom of the pan. Get your oven to 375 degrees and roast for 30 minutes (so your cabbage looks caramelized) than cover your cast iron pan with tin foil, reduce the temperature of your oven to 325 degrees and continue to roast for another 45-60 minutes, or so the center of the cabbage quarters are fork tender.
I served mine directly in the cast iron skillet because it’s just SO PRETTY. If you can can weasel a spoon into the crevices, try spooning some of the juices from the bottom of the pan onto the top of your cabbage before serving.
The Kitchen Koach 