Stir-fried Cabbage with Ham and Dried Shrimp

Stir-fried cabbage with ham and dried shrimp (火腿蝦米炒椰菜) is a homely Chinese dish with lots of flavour. Cabbage is an underrated vegetable – inexpensive but really delicious in my opinion. It is transformed into something extraordinary in this dish by the punchy umami taste of dry-cured ham and dried shrimp. You do not need much seasoning apart from a little soy sauce.

You should use Jinhua dry-cured ham (金華火腿) for this dish. It is produced in the Jinhua city in the Zhejiang province of eastern China. It is a premium cooking ingredient loved by many Chinese chefs because of its intense umami flavour. Jinjua ham is not easily available outside China, and the Spanish Serrano ham is a good substitute. Please do not use bacon or brine-cured ham as a substitute as their flavour is very different.

Stir-fried Cabbage with Ham and Dried Shrimp (火腿蝦米炒椰菜)

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Serves: 2 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 30 minutes 30 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 60 ml groundnut oil
• 40g dried shrimps, soaked in cold water for 1 hour and drained
• 1 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp finely chopped ginger
• 30g Chinese Jinhua ham (or Serrano ham), chopped
• 400g pointed cabbage (or cabbage of your choice), finely shredded
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 spring onions, diced

Instructions

1. Heat a wok over high heat. Add the oil and dried shrimps. Fry until crispy and fragrant. Remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside.
2. Keep the oil. Add the garlic, ginger and ham. Fry until fragrant.
3. Toss in the cabbage and stir fry until just cooked and still crisp. Return the dried shrimps. Add soy sauce and spring onion. Toss well and serve.