Chinese Hot & Sour Napa Cabbage

     What to do with a leftover head of napa cabbage?  I made a half a recipe of Lions Head meatballs and needed a way to use up the remaining cabbage.  And this cabbage recipe is spectacular. It's simple with a great flavor and a surprising smoky, almost bacon, flavor from the fried peppers. Red House Spice, where I got the recipe from, uses black rice vinegar, I can't tell you good substitutions for that because i've never had it haven't found it locally. I used a homemade spicy pepper vinegar my husbands co-worker gave him to try. It was amazing, it's so amazing with that vinegar, it's apple cider based vinegar so that is the route I would so if you can't find the black rice vinegar either. 

1 head Napa Cabbage

1 Tbsp. oil

3 Tbsp. hot vinegar

3 Tbsp.  Soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp. corn starch

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. water

6 cloves garlic, minced

12 dried japonese peppers

4 green onions, sliced

Start heating your walk over a hot stove. 

Cut the end off the peppers and get the seeds out of the middle. Slice and set aside. 

Cut the cabbage in to one inch pieces. Combine the hot vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar, salt, and water in a bowl. Whisk until smooth. Set aside. 

Add the oil tot he heated wok. add the garlic and sliced peppers and cook, stirring, until cooked and starting to brown but not burnt. Add the cabbage and stir well to get the garlic off the bottom of the pan. Cook, stirring, for 7-10 minutes or until the cabbage is tender. the leafy green part will shrink a lot and the white stalk part should be soft. 

Stir the vinegar and soy mixture to make sure the cornstarch is mixed through. Add the green onions and vinegar mixture and cook, stirring, until thickened. Serve immediately.