Cabbage braised in butter キャベツのバター焼き

For some reason, shredded raw cabbage is the most common accompaniment for many Japanese-Western dishes or "Yo-shoku" 洋食 such as fried breaded pork or "Tonkatsu" トンカツ and Croquettes コロッケ. I like cabbage this way especially if I use cabbage leaves, after discarding several outermost layers of the head of cabbage, which are still green but not too tough. I like them julienned very thin and crisped in ice water before serving. My wife does not care for raw cabbage in general and I often end up making the cabbage into a kind of coleslaw. I also make sautéed cabbage with deep fried tofu pouch which was then braised in mirin and soy sauce (I am sure I can post this very soon). In any case, this is another simple quick cabbage dish which goes well with sake or any other drinks. I think I first saw this in the Kentaro Kobayashi's drinking food cook book and I made some modification (can't help it).

I cut 1/3 of a small head of cabbage (avoiding the core) which is then cut into three portions. I melt butter (1 tbs) in a frying pan and put in the cabbage chunks with cut side down on a medium low flame. I add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. I put a tightly fitting lid so that the cabbage is pan fried and steamed at the same time. Since we like cabbage to be more cooked than the original recipe will produce, I add 2-3 tbs of sake after 10 minutes or before the bottom of pan scorches and then put back the lid and continue to cook it on a slightly higher flame for another 5-6 minutes or until liquid is almost all gone. Remove the cabbage to the serving plate. Depending on how much liquid is left in the pan, I add a bit more sake to deglaze the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. I add 1 -2 tsp of soy sauce, and finish it with few pats of cold butter (less than 1 tbs). Pour the sauce over the cabbage and add freshly cracked black pepper.

This is surprisingly good. Salt and pepper flavors go well with cabbage and browned butter and soy sauce is also a winning combination. This dish will go well with any drink.