#QuarantineCooking : Shio Kyabetsu

Well, it looks like we won’t be going back to Japan anytime soon, does it? I don’t know about you, but I’ve been missing some food that I’ve only been able to get in Japan. One of those is shio kyabetsu, or the salty cabbage salad that you often get as a pupu at izakayas. I don’t know why you rarely see it here in Hawaii.

When I got my Da Chefs Box from ChefZone, one of the items inside was a whole head of cabbage. So the first thing I wanted to do was make that salad! On my first try googling, I found nothing. Then my foodie friend Sean Morris told me the Japanese name, shio kyabetsu, and that yielded some results. Here is one of the simpler recipes.

1/2 a head of cabbage
about 1 Tablespoon of sesame oil (don’t use too much)
Salt and pepper to taste
Splash of shoyu
Shio konbu (optional)

Mix all together. Serve immediately.

After I made this, it was adequate, but was missing something. So Sean googled the recipe for me in JAPANESE. Hello!!! The recipe he found, which I’ll try another time, is a little more complicated. But he said the garlic is what gives it a deeper flavor, more like what you’ll find in Japan. Might as well try it, right? All we got is time.

Shio Kyabetsu 
1/4 head of cabbage
1/4-1/3 tsp of salt
1/3 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp kelp powder (konbu powder) or dashi powder
2 tsp sesame oil
Black pepper to taste

Mix all together and serve immediately.

If you try this second recipe, let me know how it comes out!