Din Ta Fung Cabbage

Sometimes the vegetable dish is the thing I keep thinking about after dinner.

If you’ve eaten at Din Tai Fung, you know what I mean. Their Taiwanese cabbage with garlic looks almost too simple to be memorable, but somehow it is: tender but still crisp, loaded with garlic, and savory without being covered in a heavy sauce.

I came across this copycat version from CJ Eats, and what immediately appealed to me was how straightforward it is. This is exactly the kind of side dish I like: inexpensive, quick, and good enough that I’m perfectly happy eating a bowl of it with some rice and calling that dinner.

Annotated Cooking Notes: Taiwanese cabbage is worth looking for. It’s flatter and looser than the standard green cabbage you usually see at the grocery store, with a slightly sweeter and more delicate flavor. CJ notes that regular green cabbage will still work if you can’t find it.

Serve it immediately. This is one of those dishes that is at its best straight out of the wok while the cabbage still has some bite.

Ingredients

• 1 small head Taiwanese cabbage, approximately 1–1½ pounds

• 10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

• ¼ cup neutral cooking oil

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed

• 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine

• ½ teaspoon white pepper

• ½ tablespoon chicken bouillon powder

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil, optional

Directions

1. Remove the core from the cabbage and cut the leaves into roughly 2- to 3-inch pieces. Separate the layers so they cook evenly. Thinly slice the garlic.

2. Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the neutral oil.

3. Add the garlic and cook very briefly, just until it begins to turn light golden. Garlic can go from perfect to burned quickly here, so have the cabbage ready.

4. Add the cabbage and salt. Stir-fry for about 3–4 minutes.

5. As the cabbage cooks, it will release water. Keep cooking over high heat until that excess moisture has evaporated rather than collecting at the bottom of the pan.

6. Pour the Shaoxing wine around the hot edge of the wok or skillet and toss everything together.

7. Add the white pepper and chicken bouillon powder. Continue stir-frying for another few minutes, until the cabbage has softened but still has some crunch.

8. Finish with sesame oil, if using, and serve immediately.

A Few Easy Variations

I made it exactly as written the first time because part of the appeal is its simplicity. After that, there are plenty of directions you could take it.

A little chili crisp at the table would be excellent. Crispy shallots would work too. For a vegetarian version, I’d swap the chicken bouillon for a good mushroom or vegetable bouillon.

But the basic cabbage-garlic combination really doesn’t need much help.

And that may be my favorite thing about this recipe. It takes one of the cheapest vegetables in the grocery store and turns it into something I’d happily order at a restaurant.