Grilled cabbage salad

This smoky grilled cabbage, infused with the flavours of south-east Asia, can easily take pride of place as a main or side dish.

Grilled cabbage salad Credit: Smith Street Books

• serves

  4

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 45 g (1 ½ oz/¼ cup) palm sugar
• 60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) lime juice
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• ½ green cabbage, cut into thin wedges
• ½ red cabbage, cut into thin wedges
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 2 red Asian shallots, finely diced
• 1 long red chilli, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Preheat a barbecue hotplate (griddle) to medium and lightly grease with oil.

2. Combine the palm sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and garlic in a small saucepan over low heat. Simmer for 3–4 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has reduced by a third. Remove from the heat.

3. Brush the cabbage wedges with the peanut oil and cook on the hotplate for 6–8 minutes on each side, allowing the edges to blacken slightly.

4. Transfer to a chopping board and remove the cores from the cabbage. Place the cabbage wedges in a serving bowl and pour the dressing over. Garnish with the shallots and chilli.

Recipe from Feed The Man Meat (Smith Street Books).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.