Can you believe?

Charred Cabbage with Coconut Cream & Chili Coconut Brittle

Let us not waste time with excuses and stories. I am here, you are here, there is cabbage to be eaten.

Before you moan, Cabbage?, to yourself like I am the mean mommy serving you gross yuckies, I want you to remember that your doctor has told you to eat more green, leafy vegetables. This cabbage is purple but I think it counts.

This is not Charlie Bucket’s sad cabbage soup. Mrs. Bucket could never. Had she served this cabbage instead of her insipid grey broth, perhaps Grandpa Joe would have ended his paralytic charade earlier and actually helped out around the house. If she had made this cabbage instead of her sulfuric consommé, perhaps her child would not have been so fixated on the mad workings of his local candy factory.

Who else totally thought the laundry WAS the soup as a kid?

But here I am blaming the only industrious member of the Bucket household for the foibles of her dependents. Patriarchy strikes again.

Charred Cabbage with Coconut Cream & Chili Coconut Brittle

Serves 2-4

This dish is a symphony of textures: silky cream, crunchy brittle and toothsome cabbage. You get cooling coconut, spicy chilis, fragrant herbs, and an acidic sparkle of lime. When charred, cabbage is simultaneously fresh and crunchy but also umami and satisfying. We ate this last night with grilled chicken legs but it would be equally scrumptious as a side to grilled fish or roasted mushrooms with rice. Just eat it with something that you can drag through that extra coconut cream on the plate. You’ll want to, I promise.

Ingredients:

• 1 can full-fat coconut milk*

• 1/2 head large red cabbage or 1 whole small

• 2 limes

• Pinch of white sugar

• 1 tbsp chili crisp solids* (more solids, less oil but still some oil)

• 2 tbsp brown sugar

• 1 tbsp unsweetened flaked coconut

• 2 tbsp picked cilantro leaves

• 2 green onions, thinly slices

• 2 tbsp picked mint leaves

• Neutral oil or coconut oil

Directions

Make the coconut cream. Put the can of coconut milk in the fridge for 1-2 hours if it is hot where you live. When it is nice and cold, open it and spoon off the solid coconut cream. Whip the coconut cream until fluffy-ish with a stand mixer, hand mixer, or strong wrist and a whisk. Add the zest and juice of half a lime, a pinch of white sugar, and a pinch of salt. Taste for seasoning. Set aside or pop it in the fridge if your kitchen is very warm.

Char the cabbage. Core the cabbage and separate it into nice chunky 2-3 inch leaves. Get a cast iron pan RIPPING HOT. Add a tiny bit of neutral oil and sear the cabbage until charred on both sides, working in batches if necessary. Set aside.

Make the brittle. Add chili crisp solids, brown sugar, and flaked coconut to a non-stick pan and heat over medium-low until the sugar melts and everything is getting toasty. Watch carefully and do not let the sugar burn. Pour onto a piece of foil to cool until it is hard and brittle. Crunch into a bunch of pieces.

Assemble. Start by swooshing the coconut cream onto the bottom of the plate. Pile the cabbage on top and season it generously with the juice of a whole lime and salt. Top with cilantro, mint, green onion, the chili coconut brittle, and an extra drizzle of chili oil if you like.

*Note: I have found that some coconut milk brands do not separate into cream as readily as others—Whole Foods 365 brand and Thai Kitchen have both worked well for me. Thrive Market brand coconut milk, while super delicious, just doesn’t separate as well. For chili crisp, I have used both Fly by Jing and Lao Gan Ma with excellent results. I think homemade chili crisp would likely work as well.

Currently

Currently reading: My favorite book so far this year, this masterful novel follows 12 different characters as they navigate Black womanhood in the UK. It’s really an astounding work of art—please read it!

Currently savoring: THE MELONS ARE HERE. I am eating them drizzled with this smoked olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. The snack of summer.

Currently recommending: I gave my bathroom a little makeover with a new shower curtain from this company, which I discovered after peeping the tags on the towels at an Airbnb. They have really big sales (think 50% off) a few times a year, so just bookmark it and wait for that discount to drop.

Currently considering: Look, I have another really yummy cabbage recipe that I could share. Are we into that or is one cabbage enough for you? If I tell you it’s PASTA, does that change anything? Leave a comment for me if you have feelings on the subject.