Cabbage Pad Thai

I’ve been making this cabbage pad Thai-ish in some form or another since the late fall, when I spotted the recipe in Andie Mitchell’s Eating in the Middle , and the contents of my CSA miraculously included all of the key ingredients: cabbage, peppers, cilantro, and onions.

With peppers now out of season, I’ve been using shiitake mushrooms, whose meaty texture and woodsy flavor nicely complement the cabbage, and I imagine a number of other vegetables—julienned carrots, shredded Brussels sprouts or broccoli, for example—could also be used. In place of the traditional scrambled egg, the texture of which I never seem to get right, I’ve been baking cubes of tofu, dressed simply with soy sauce and oil, and folding those in at the end.

Two notes: There are no noodles! And no tamarind! So no, this is not authentic pad Thai. Here, sugar and lime juice in the stir-fry sauce stand in for tamarind, whose fruity, tart flavor lends that sweet-and-sourness characteristic of traditional pad Thai. This dish comes together quickly, and while the vegetables and seasonings may be unorthodox, the combination is tasty and satisfying.

PS: Other favorite cabbage recipes .

Description

Adapted from Andie Mitchell’s Eating in the Middle

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
• 3 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil, divided
• 1 14-oz block extra-firm tofu, patted dry, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus more for serving
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 cup thinly sliced onion (1 small onion)
• 7 to 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 jalapeño, seeds removed, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt
• 5 cups thinly sliced cabbage (about half a small head)
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped peanuts

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Whisk together 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 tablespoon oil in a medium bowl. Add tofu cubes and gently toss to coat. Let cubes marinate while oven preheats—at least 5 minutes. Lightly rub a rimmed sheetpan with neutral oil. Place tofu cubes on pan, discarding the remaining marinade. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, combine the remaining tablespoon of soy sauce with the lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, and 1/4 cup water. Stir together and set aside.
3. In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over high heat. Add the onions, mushrooms and jalapeño. Turn heat down to medium. Let cook undisturbed for 1 minute, then stir every so often until onions and mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and a pinch of salt and cook for 30 seconds more. Transfer vegetables to a plate. Add remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add cabbage and let cook undisturbed for 1 minutes, then stir every so often until cabbage is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes more.
4. Turn the heat to high, add the soy sauce mixture, stir to combine, bring the mixture to a boil, and cook until the cabbage is coated in a thick, glossy sauce. Stir in the onions and mushrooms. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the fresh cilantro and baked tofu. Sprinkle the peanuts over top and serve.

Description

Adapted from Andie Mitchell’s Eating in the Middle

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
• 3 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil, divided
• 1 14-oz block extra-firm tofu, patted dry, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus more for serving
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 cup thinly sliced onion (1 small onion)
• 7 to 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 jalapeño, seeds removed, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt
• 5 cups thinly sliced cabbage (about half a small head)
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped peanuts

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Whisk together 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 tablespoon oil in a medium bowl. Add tofu cubes and gently toss to coat. Let cubes marinate while oven preheats—at least 5 minutes. Lightly rub a rimmed sheetpan with neutral oil. Place tofu cubes on pan, discarding the remaining marinade. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, combine the remaining tablespoon of soy sauce with the lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, and 1/4 cup water. Stir together and set aside.
3. In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over high heat. Add the onions, mushrooms and jalapeño. Turn heat down to medium. Let cook undisturbed for 1 minute, then stir every so often until onions and mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and a pinch of salt and cook for 30 seconds more. Transfer vegetables to a plate. Add remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add cabbage and let cook undisturbed for 1 minutes, then stir every so often until cabbage is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes more.
4. Turn the heat to high, add the soy sauce mixture, stir to combine, bring the mixture to a boil, and cook until the cabbage is coated in a thick, glossy sauce. Stir in the onions and mushrooms. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the fresh cilantro and baked tofu. Sprinkle the peanuts over top and serve.

Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2017/01/11/cabbage-pad-thai-ish/

Dinner tonight: Broiled arctic char meets citrus sauce, a longtime favorite recipe from Sally Schneider’s A New Way to Cook .

It’s simple:

1. Segment a mix of oranges and lemon.
2. Dress them with a small amount of olive oil and chives, and season with salt.
3. Briefly marinate the char in a mix of equal parts citrus juice, olive oil, and honey.
4. Broil the char for five minutes.

That’s it! In 5 minutes, these arctic char fillets are cooked through, emerging with caramelized edges and skin glistening, ready to receive a citrus bath.

Lots of crusty bread is a must, and a simple green salad is nice, too. Have a wonderful weekend, Everyone.

Description

Author Notes: Sauce adapted from a favorite Sally Schneider recipe in A New Way to Cook .

• 4 small oranges, a mix is nice (I’ve been using Cara Cara and tangerines)
• 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• four 3- to 4-ounce fillets Arctic Char
• 2 tablespoons minced chives
• 1 pinch flaky sea salt
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil

1. Position a rack 3 inches from the broiler. (Note: To get the pan 3 inches from the heat source, you may have to turn over a rimmed sheet pan and set it on the rack.) Preheat the broiler to high.
2. If you know how to supreme citrus fruit, do that, squeezing and reserving any juice left in the rinds, then skip to step 2. Otherwise: Slice off the ends of each orange and the lemon. Squeeze the juice out of those ends into a medium bowl. Discard the rind. (It’s handy to have a garbage bowl nearby for this step.) Stand each piece of fruit on one of its cut sides. Run a knife down the side of each orange and the lemon to remove the skin. Squeeze the juice out of those skins into the bowl, then discard. Remove each citrus segment by running a knife down the side of each membrane and slicing the segment out. Drop it into the bowl of juice. Once all of the segments are removed, squeeze the remaining membranes into the bowl to extract the juice. You should be left with a bowl of beautiful segments swimming in a lot of juice. (If this doesn’t make sense, Youtube it.)
3. Pour one tablespoon of the juice from the bowl of citrus segments into a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of honey and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Whisk to combine. Add the fillets of arctic char and toss to coat. Let marinate for at least 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, pour the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil into the bowl with the citrus segments. Add the chives and a big pinch of sea salt. Stir to combine. Taste. It should taste similar to a salad dressing with perhaps less of a bite. It should not be emulsified.
5. Rub a sizzle pan or sheet pan or broiler pan lightly with neutral oil. Remove fillets from marinade, letting excess drip off—no need to pat dry. Discard excess marinade. Place the char fillets skin side down in the pan. Season the flesh with salt (and pepper, if you wish) to taste. Place a sheet pan upside down on the rack (see why, if you’ve forgotten, in step 1), then place the pan with the fillets in it on top. Broil 4 to 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven and immediately transfer fillets to a serving platter. Spoon sauce over top. Pass extra sauce on the side.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Category: Fish
• Method: Broil
• Cuisine: American