Grilled Cabbage with Sesame Dressing
If you've never had grilled cabbage, what are you even doing?
This recipe was inspired by a delicious American-Japanese fusion sushi restaurant in my college town that serves fried sesame Brussels sprouts. Rather than frying my cabbage in oil like they do, I decided to go a healthier route and grill these puppies. I love the magical buttery quality that cabbage gets when it's cooked into soups and stir-fries, but pairing that buttery goodness with those little charred bits from the grill bumps up the yum factor about ten notches.
To incorporate the sesame component of my inspiration dish, I adapted a sesame dressing recipe from the Spruce, which is one of my favorite sources for eco-friendly tips and tricks. This dressing is flavorful, savory and just lightly sweet, which makes it the perf buddy for a blank slate of cabbage.
Let me know what you think of the recipe in the comments and don't forget to follow the sustainability tips below!
Ingredients
6 tablespoons white sesame seeds
5 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoon soy sauce
4 teaspoons coconut sugar
2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 large green cabbage
Salt to taste
Steps
In a spice or coffee grinder, grind half the sesame seeds until they are a flour-like consistency, only about 10 seconds. Whisk together the ground sesame seeds with the remaining whole sesame seeds, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil until the sugar has dissolved and set aside.
Wash the cabbage and cut it into eight chunks. To do this, slice the cabbage in half vertically through its core, and then cut those two halves in half vertically through their core. Then, cut each fourth vertically in half.
Place a lightly oiled cast iron grill pan over medium heat and place cabbage chunks in a single layer in the pan. Cover with a large lid or another cast iron pan and leave to cook for about 7 minutes, or until the cabbage develops light charring. Turn and cook the other side for about 7 more minutes. Repeat grilling with remaining cabbage. Serve cabbages drizzled with dressing or with the dressing on the side.
Sustainability tips
Sesame seeds, rice vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil: If you don't live in Asia, it will be difficult to find locally grown and processed versions of these products. However, organic versions of all these products are available in many grocery stores, so take advantage of that. That organic label means that your products won't be contributing to nasty pesticide contamination of lands or waters.
Coconut sugar: I like using coconut sugar because it's easier to find fair trade varieties of coconut sugar than cane sugar. If you can find organic and fair trade brown sugar or granulated cane sugar, feel free to use those in place. Read all about the sustainability of cane sugar in my sustainable sugars post!
Cabbage: Even in cold climates, local cabbage can last through the winter in farm storage so be on the lookout for locally-grown cabbage for sale. For maximum sustainability, go for a local and organic head of cabbage.