Chinese Spicy and Sour Stir-Fried Cabbage With Bacon Recipe

Updated August 29, 2018

The fiery flavors of Hunan come through in this simple stir-fried dish. . Shao Z.

Hunanese food is famous for its fiery, chili-spiked dishes, and this quick and easy one with hand-torn cabbage, fresh red chilies, garlic, scallions, and bacon, is no exception. In fact, by Hunan standards, this dish is fairly tame. Slightly sour, thanks to the addition of black rice vinegar, the dish is great as part of a multi-course meal where the other dishes are even more intensely flavored and spicy.

Chinese Aromatics 101: Spicy and Sour Stir-Fried Cabbage With Bacon

Recipe Details

Chinese Spicy and Sour Stir-Fried Cabbage With Bacon Recipe

Active 25 mins

Total 30 mins

Serves 4 servings

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Ingredients

1 (1-pound) head green cabbage, halved, cored, and torn into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar (see note)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
3 strips thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/4-inch strips
2 to 3 fresh cayenne chile peppers or other fresh red chile, thinly sliced on the bias with seeds
3 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced lengthwise
2 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces on the bias

Directions

Fill a wok or a large pot with water and bring to boil. Add cabbage and cook until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold running water; press cabbage to expel any excess water. In a small bowl, combine Chinkiang vinegar and soy sauce together. Mix and set aside.
In a wok, cook bacon over high heat until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or spider, transfer bacon to paper-towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of rendered bacon fat from wok.
Heat wok over high heat until bacon fat is lightly smoking. Add chilies, garlic, and scallions and stir-fry until garlic is golden, about 30 seconds. Toss in cabbage and stir-fry until warmed through.
Add vinegar mixture and and bacon and continue to stir-fry until cabbage is tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate and serve immediately.

Notes

Chinkiang vinegar is also sold as Zhenjiang vinegar in Asian markets. If unavailable, substitute with 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar.

Special Equipment

Wok

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
83	Calories
3g	Fat
9g	Carbs
5g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories	83
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 3g	4%
Saturated Fat 1g	6%
Cholesterol 9mg	3%
Sodium 237mg	10%
Total Carbohydrate 9g	3%
Dietary Fiber 3g	10%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 61mg	304%
Calcium 72mg	6%
Iron 1mg	4%
Potassium 354mg	8%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.