Qinglong Cabbage
乾隆白菜
This simple cabbage dish takes its name from Qinglong, an emperor of the Qing Dynasty. He frequently left the palace walls, curiously exploring his realm in disguise. On New Year’s Eve he was traveling back to Beijing late in the evening. Most restaurants were closed, but finally his men stumbled across a small humble place in Qianmen, usually serving ordinary workers. The Emperor and his guards sat down, all in disguise, and demanded the best dishes the owner had to offer. One of the dishes the owner served was a cabbage salad tossed with a sesame, honey and soy dressing.
The Emperor enjoyed the cabbage dish so much, he asked the name of the restaurant. ‘None’ said the owner. And so the Emperor named it ‘Du Yi Chu’ (‘the only place’) because it was the only place open on New Year’s Eve. The next day, officials from the palace surprised the owner with a hand-painted sign with the new name written in gold by the Emperor himself. The restaurant owner then realised who his late-night visitors were and named this dish ‘Qinglong Cabbage’.
The original dressing is made with the traditional 9-9-3-1-1 (九九三一一.) ratios - 9 parts vinegar, 9 parts honey, 3 parts sesame paste, 1 part sugar and 1 part salt. I’ve tweaked the recipe to make it a bit lighter and not as sweet, but still incredibly moreish.
Serves 2-3
Ingredients
1 small Chinese/Napa cabbage
For the sauce:
35g Chinese sesame paste*
15g white sugar
25ml honey
10ml sesame oil
20ml dark Chinese vinegar
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
Method
Cut off the white core of the cabbage, this will make it easier to peel the leaves. Pull the long leaves off the cabbage one by one. For this dish you don’t want the big floppy outer leafs, but the tender inner ones, so separate them. Then tear the tender leaf part from the thicker white stems and discard the stems. A bit of white is fine.
Wash and then soak the leaves in a bowl of iced water until ready to use. This will freshen up the leaves.
Make the dressing. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Chinese sesame paste can be stubborn and needs a good beating to force it to mix together into a smooth dressing. If you need, you can add a drop of water and try again.
Drain the cabbage leaves, pat them dry and then tear any huge leaves into smaller pieces about the size of a round bread roll.
Place the leaves into a large mixing bowl and drizzle over the dressing. Using your hands, scrunch the dressing through the cabbage leaves. You want a liberal coating of dressing on every leaf.
Serve immediately. This is not a dish you can make ahead of schedule as the leaves will go a bit soft.
*Chinese sesame paste is quite different from its famous cousin tahini. They cannot be substituted. Tahini is lighter and made with raw sesame seeds, whereas Chinese sesame paste is made with toasted seeds, resulting in a much stronger flavour and darker colour.
