Japanese Cabbage

A new client of mine is about 1/2 mile from Mitsuwa. Since I'm usually with a colleague when we go, I haven't been able to stop.

My last visit, however, I was by myself, so could indulge. I didn't need anything, but need is usually not in any way related to going to ethnic grocers.

I didn't buy much, but did try a Japanese cabbage. It was wider and flatter - an oblong instead of round. It also was looser, with more space in between the leaves.

Tonight I made a beef cabbage dish with it based loosely on the recipe shown on a blog about Japanese cooking. I improvised a bit when I added some Chinese chili black beans, but it was a delicious addition if I may say so.

The cabbage was delicious! It had large ribbing that I left in and then worried wouldn't cook in time or would taste strong, but the worries were for naught. All of it has a sweet taste without any sense of the swampy strong smell that can be associated with cabbage. I just realized I forgot to try some raw... darn it!

I would absolutely buy it again. The leaves were HUGE; not sure how they would work for wrapping, but it might be worth a try. I keep typing and deleting when trying to explain the texture. It was somehow soft but without getting mushy or losing it's firmness, particularly like Savoy can.

If you like cabbage and haven't tried this or like cabbage some, but think it's a bit strong, I would think you'd love this.

This is not simple napa that you're talking about is it?

Nope.

It was called Japanese cabbage and looked like....um....a green Western cabbage that someone sat on.

So, it was oval instead of round. And there was a lot of space in between some of the sections - so definitely not as heavy.

Aha! I found a couple images. The first is on an old Mitsuwa page. I found it doing a search in Yahoo Images, on the second or third page of results, but it's not available on the site anymore.

This one, though, seems about right. See how flattened the cabbages lower right are? Large, but flat. Inside they are more airy than a common cabbage we'd find at a US supermarket.


The picture of this Taiwanese cabbage looks very similar to what I remember the one I had.

Very delicious.