Mezze Cabbage with Shrimp Sauce

Sometime, I like to stir-fry cabbage with a different sauce, like this one, with fermented shrimp paste.

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In Chinese cuisine, there are a lot of different condiments. When you step into an oriental grocery store, you can find an array of sauces which allow you to quickly stir-fry something to make an easy meal.

One of the condiments I always stock at home is fermented shrimp paste(蝦醬).

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How to Use Fermented Shrimp Paste?

Fermented shrimp paste has a pungent and stinky smell which may not be everyone’s favourite. But when you use it wisely, in certain dishes, shrimp paste can play a key role in turns a dish into something indulgent, like in many Southeast Asian cooks.

For example, in Hong Kong, we like to use it to stir-fry morning glory(蝦醬通菜). In Thailand, it’s a dipping sauce, or used to fry rice like Pineapple Fried Rice. Here is one recipe showing how to make homemade shrimp paste. And in Vietnam, people also like to use it as a dipping sauce to pair with boiled meat, fried fish or tofu.

Note: The shrimp paste is very salty (can be up to 25% salt), you usually use a small amount each time. I like to add some sugar and lemon juice to balance the overall flavour.

I cannot find morning glory in the UK, so I use cabbage instead. It works!

You just need to sauté it as usual, no need to add extra salt because the shrimp paste is salty enough. Pour the sauce onto the wilted cabbage, then you have a plate of wonderful, unusual stir-fried vegetables for your quick meal.

200 g Cabbage Shrink into a Mezze Plate

200 g cabbage looks like a lot before it’s cooked, but it does not after stir-frying! When you keep cooking, the water evaporates and hence shrinks, becoming a small amount which fits on a mezze plate.

If you want to have a big plate of stir-fried cabbage, double-up the ingredients accordingly.

Ingredients

Serves: 2

• 200 g cabbage, cut into shreds
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp fermented shrimp paste (10 g)
• 1/2 tsp sugar (3 g)
• 3 level tbsp water (20 g)
• lemon juice

How to Make Mezzo Cabbage with Shrimp Paste

1. Mix the shrimp paste, sugar and water in a small bowl.
2. Heat some oil in a pan, fry the garlic until fragrant. Add the cabbage, stir-fry over medium-high heat until they are wilted.
3. Pour over the shrimp paste sauce, keep stir-frying until it’s soft but still crunchy in some parts, freshly squeeze in some lemon juice, done!