Stir-fried Cabbage with Fish Sauce (กะหล่ำปลีทอดน้ำปลา)

Stir-fried Cabbage with fish sauce or Ka Lam Plee Tod Nam Pla (กะหล่ำปลีทอดน้ำปลา) is a very popular vegetable dish in Thailand. I got this vegetable recipe from Pantip.com. Pantip.com is a popular Thai language internet forum. And also the recipe is widespread being shared on the Social Media.

Actually there are two versions of Stir-fried Cabbage with fish sauce or Ka Lam Plee Tod Nam Pla (กะหล่ำปลีทอดน้ำปลา).  The differences are the process – one: deep fry cabbage before stir frying it with fish sauce and the other one: use small amount of oil and use fish sauce to steam the cabbage on a hot steel wok. And this recipe is the second one.  

What is the secret turns this simple dish to be a popular dish? There are two factors – first one: (to have) a good fish sauce, and second: the steam and caramel from the fish sauce (see the instructions) that is created from a hot wok to produce a good result.

* Use a steel wok only!

For 2 servings

   

Ingredients 

400 g.                       Asian Cabbage

3 – 5 cloves              Garlic, crush and chop roughly

2 tbsp                       Fish sauce

3 tbsp                       Vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Separate each leaf and wash the cabbage in the cool tap water or if the cabbage is not fresh then soak the leaves in cool water for a few hours or until the leaves are crisp.
2. Drain the cabbage leaves and cut or break into big pieces or 2.5 x 3 inches.
3.  Heat the wok over high heat, and add oil and follow with garlic.
4. Leave the garlic in hot oil for a second and follow with the cabbage, and leave the cabbage in the hot wok for 20 – 30 seconds or count 1 – 10.
5. Stir and toss and mix the cabbage with oil and garlic well and pile the cabbage in the middle of the wok.
6. Pour fish sauce on the wok around the cabbage. Let the fish sauce creates steam on the hot wok so that fish sauce steam will cover and cook the cabbage. Leave it for 20 second or count 1 – 10.
7. Stir and toss and mix the cabbage with fish sauce caramel that burned on the wok totally for 20 second or count 1 – 10.
8. Remove from heat and transfer the cabbage to a serving plate. Serve hot with steamed Jasmine rice.