The spouse's favorite is to have a pile of blanched cabbage with his zhajiangmian, dry-tossed noodles with hot bean sauce. The blanched vegetables lighten the heavy, savory noodles and make the dish a healthier option.
Sometimes, I remember my southern Chinese roots and cook a vegetarian special with a base of braised cabbage, with mushrooms, ginkgo nuts, lotus seeds, peas and carrots on top.
Another dish is tender braised cabbage hearts in thick chicken stock and top of milk or cream. This is straight from the imperial kitchens, and only the sweetest, most tender hearts of the cabbage are used.
It is sweet on sweet, with the natural flavor of the cabbage accentuated by the chicken stock and shredded dried scallops. That touch of cream gives the dish a velvety smoothness that takes it to another level. I also like making Russian-inspired cabbage rolls with Chinese cabbage instead of round cabbages. For one thing, the leaves are larger and more pliable, and they do not melt into nothingness.
Chinese cabbage is also known as Napa cabbage in the West, after migrant Asian farmers introduced this vegetable to the San Francisco farmers' markets from their farms in Napa Valley across the Bay.
All very well, but I do think it's about time we reclaim the name, in recognition of Chinese cabbage's unique contribution to the Middle Kingdom's cuisines all these thousands of years.
