My New Condiment Wonder…

Serving cooked greens will get an exotic lift with an ancient Japanese brine.

Ume plum vinegar (OO-may) is actually a sour brine left after pickling plums. It has a sharply sour and salty taste. I created Jade sauce by adding it to pureed scallion tops and oil. Jade sauce is ready in just minutes. The sauce is also great on steamed veggies.

RECIPE: Make extra, great as a planned-over; cold or reheated

Serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS:

Ume plum vinegar is inexpensive located in natural food stores and international markets. It is a Japanese condiment that is the perfect condiment for sweet vegetables; especially drizzled on sautéed corn or winter squash. It will be an active condiment in your kitchen.

Choose any type of cabbage or winter green

• cabbage – 1 LB, (1/2 med.), quartered, cored, 1/3” wide ribbons
• SAUCE
  • ume plum vinegar – 1/4 cup
  • vegetable oil – 1/4 cup, (bland), not olive
  • scallion tops – 2 cups, packed, (1 bunch), chopped
• toasted sesame seeds – serve at table

1. Make the sauce using a small blender* and puree on high speed. Make sure it is pureed. Taste—if too salty, add additional oil and or scallion tops
2. Cut cabbage into quarters, remove the core, then cut lengthwise into 1/3-inch wide ribbons
3. Use a steamer and cook cabbage for 10-15 minutes, until translucent and tender with some resistance to the bite. Test with a fork and continue to steam if needed
4. Toss cabbage liberally with sauce, taste for a pronounced seasoned taste . Top with sesame seeds

Serve warm or room temperature. Even great as a cold side the next day

NOTES:

The jade sauce keeps for up to ten days in the refrigerator

ADDITIONS: Build into a side dish or main course

Add sliced mushrooms to the steamer along with the cabbage. Furthermore, toss cabbage with pre-cooked pasta and beans or diced protein as a main course.

If you use only the white part of leeks or scallions, your sauce will become a pink sauce! Here’s a Pink Sauce version

*Mini-food blenders

In the world of kitchen appliances there is a kind of no-man’s land when it comes to small-batch pureeing. A standard blender is too large and a food processor—no matter the size—doesn’t puree. The world now abounds with little instant blenders—Bullet, Ninja, and others— that hold a cup or two of ingredients and make instant purees. Better still, they can be cleaned with a drop of soap and water poured back into the bowl then run for a few seconds to clean. They are inexpensive and a useful investment to make dressings, sauces, ground herbs and spices, and more.

Recipe by B. Hettig ©2017-2024, billhettig@mac.com