Hot Sausage and Cabbage Stir-Fry

This made me nostalgic for hole-in-the-wall Chinese food. It started with the smell but hit me like a tidal wave with the first bite. Holy hell. It’s bright and fresh in flavor and in that cabbage crunch, but there is something sorta heavy and greasy that I can’t get enough of. I ate all of this to myself in two sittings without shame. It goes down easy and really doesn’t need the tortillas or rice unless you’re trying to make it last longer. I wasn’t. I was going out of town the next afternoon, so I absolutely ate it for breakfast the next morning. Cold. The lack of shame continues.

Inspiration: Bon Appetit

Ingredients

• 1″ piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 4 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1 pound of hot Italian sausage, casing removed if links
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 6oz shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 small-ish head of Napa cabbage, shredded [approx. 6 cups]
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced chives
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Preparation

In a bowl, use your hands to mix the ginger and garlic into the sausage. Don’t over mix. You still want it to be chunky. Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage through and break up into small pieces. Once it’s browned and crisp, about 6-8 minutes, transfer the mixture to a clean bowl.

Turn the heat up to high and add the mushrooms to the pan. Stir them often so they don’t burn. They’ll release juices in about four minutes and shrink down. Add half of the shredded cabbage and cook it with the mushrooms. Toss it often. Once it’s wilted and tender, drizzle in the vinegar and soy sauce. Stir to incorporate and keep cooking until the skillet is mostly dry.

Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the chives, sausage, and remaining cabbage. Drizzle the sesame oil over the top and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve hot over rice or with tortillas/mu-shu wraps.