Sautéed Red Cabbage

This recipe is from Richard Lee, Executive Chef at the Six Senses Resort in Con Dao, Vietnam.

Cut red cabbage into quarters, cut off the inner cabbage stalk and slice very thin and uniformly.

Heat a heavy cooking pot, add generous amount of oil and then butter over medium heat. Temper slit chili and cinnamon bark for 30 seconds or until fragrant.

Add sliced cabbage and stir continuously with long wooden spoon. When the cabbage is wilted and the excess moisture of cabbage has evaporated (about 20 minutes), add balsamic vinegar just less than enough to cover the cabbage and cayenne pepper to your preferred level of spice. Add sugar in batches to adjust and to ensure that it does not caramelize too soon or get excessively sweet

Cover cabbage with a lid and continue cooking on low medium heat. Stir in regular intervals and make sure that the sides of the pot are clean. It takes about a 15 minutes for the vegetable to absorb the vinegar well. Taste to get a pickled sweet and soft cabbage and it is ready.

Sprinkle sea salt to enhance taste and crack pepper over it. Add 2-3 dashes of extra virgin olive oil and give a final stir. One large red cabbage will feed 6 people.