Red cabbage, how I love thee. Let me count the ways. Firstly, a red cabbage in its pure, raw form is absolutely gorgeous. Just take one, cut it in half and look at those amazing lines and patterns and you’ll know what I mean. Its vibrant purple hue brightens up every dish it’s in – definitely an added perk in these grey winter months- and when eaten raw, it also has a wonderfully satisfying crunch. One cabbage also lasts ages in the fridge. In fact, I managed to squeeze about 4 to 5 meals out of the one I bought a few weeks ago. (Salad with pear and vinaigrette; in vegan tacos instead of lettuce; and these noodles, twice)

The recipe below is largely based on a recipe created by Meera Sodha for the Guardian, with a few additions of my own (read: I omitted the szechuan pepper, and I doubled the amount of red cabbage pickle, because it’s oh so good). This is essentially a vegan recipe and while I was looking out for wheat noodles, I had to settle on free-range egg noodles instead, since, oddly enough, I couldn’t get hold of wheat noodles that didn’t contain palm oil. If you can, however, wheat noodles are definitely to be preferred. 

Ingredients (for 2):

200g (whole)wheat noodles

2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 heaped tsp of chilli flakes (or more)

For the tangy red cabbage:

220 g red cabbage, sliced very thinly

1/2 a cucumber, seeds removed and sliced into thin strips

4 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp sesame seeds

a small handful of fresh mint, roughly chopped

salt

• First make the cabbage pickle by mixing the thinly sliced red cabbage and cucumber with the vinegar, sesame oil, mint, salt and sesame seeds and set aside.
• In another bowl, mix sesame oil and peanut butter.

• Boil noodles according to packet instructions then drain and rinse under a cold tap.
• Heat some sunflower oil in a wok and briefly fry the garlic and the chili flakes.
• Toss the noodles with the garlic-chili oil, add the peanutbutter dressing and finally toss with the cabbage salad.
• Finish off with a little bit of extra salt or soy sauce to taste.

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Welcome to Cuisine d’Eli. My name is Elizabeth and I’m a personal chef and caterer with a passion for sustainable food. I’m based in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Contact me for more information and/or bookings.

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Welkom bij Cuisine d’Eli. Ik ben Elizabeth: duurzame kok aan huis en cateraar. Meer weten? Neem gerust een kijkje op de rest van mijn website of neem contact met me op voor meer informatie.