I continue to make good progress using my cooking magazines, with one of the latest adventures focusing on the Vegetarian Times March 2010 Hot and Sour Cabbage recipe. Unfortunately though, my attempted experimentation with a new type of cabbage didn't quite work out as I didn't quite know the difference between napa cabbage — which was called for in the recipe — and savoy cabbage. When I went to the local grocery store, I picked up the cabbage that was labeled "napa", even though Andy pointed out that it seemed like it was plain, green cabbage (read: savoy cabbage) which I have used a few times before. But because it was labeled "napa", I thought I should just go with it. Well, that turned out to be incorrect, and as such, the dish didn't quite turn out the way I had hoped.
The main issue seemed to be that savoy cabbage leaves were seemingly thicker and take longer to cook than what I imagine napa leaves take, so that the balsamic vinegar didn't quite coat all of the leaves so some leaves had a really strong balsamic taste while others lacked the flavor. In addition to making an uneven flavor, the vinegar also didn't quite mix with the sesame oil, ginger, soy sauce and other flavor additions, so I didn't really experience the "hot and sour" nature of the dish (which was quite nice) except in a few random bites. Hopefully I'll be able to find some real napa cabbage next time so I can really make this recipe the proper way!
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