15. Stir-fried cabbage with dried chilies and ginger

I get this one from "Hot Sour Salty Sweet - A Culinary Journey through Southeast Asia" by Jeffrey Alford and Noami Duguid. Any body into cookbooks will know of them.

The authors point out the key part here is to cook the cabbage until wilted but still a little crunchy.

1 small green cabbage (1 lb)
2 tbsp oil
1 ounce pork butt with its fat sliced, or 2 slices bacon cut into 1" length
4 cloves garlic minced
3 thai chilies
3 1/4" slices of ginger
1 star anise broken into two
2 tbsp of soy sauce


thinly slice cabbage and chop once over.
Heat large wok to med heat. Add oil and toss n pork and garlic for 2 min until garlic changes colour and pork melts. Make sure wok is NOT too hot. Add chilies + ginger + anis and cook for 2 minutes. Turn heat to high and stir in cabbage. Add salt and continue stir-frying until cabbage wilt (5 minutes in a hot wok when pressing cabbage against side of wok). Add soy sauce and stir -fry for one minute. Serve hot.

I have to admit that it sounds delicious. I don't have a wok but I am sure I can figure a way to cook this some way I like.