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Photo:Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Breanna Ghazali
Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Breanna Ghazali
Active Time:15 minsTotal Time:9 hrsServings:12
Active Time:15 mins
Active Time:
15 mins
Total Time:9 hrs
Total Time:
9 hrs
Servings:12
Servings:
12
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One Bite of Kalua Cabbage Transports Me Back to My Childhood
Smoky pork and cabbage are such a classic union in Hawaii that if you see it on a menu, it’s always written kalua cabbage. The words are almost always elided, sort of like when my grandma would call for me and my cousins. Instead of shouting all our names individually—Nikki, Kiki, Ash and Lani—she’d yell something that sounded like “NikkiKiki, get over here!”
But before “going beach,” we’d have to eat. There was always someone in the kitchen, an uncle or an aunt, microwaving last night’s rice, frying up corned beef hash with eggs splashed with shoyu or combining leftover kalua pig with cabbage, although the ratio was far more cabbage than meat. Cabbage was always a way to stretch the meat, and the meat was a way of getting us to eat more vegetables.
Of all the iterations of kalua pig you’ll see—kalua pig nachos, kalua pig tacos, kalua pig sliders—kalua cabbage is the most transportive, the humblest and the most delicious. The sweetness of the cabbage balances out the richness of the pork. When we’d want kalua pig normally, we’d pick it up from Helena’s Hawaiian Food, Highway Inn or even Costco.
It’s the first thing Hawaiian people living on the mainland will make to allay their homesickness. You can make a perfectly serviceable version in a slow cooker with sea salt, a splash of liquid smoke, pork shoulder and nothing else. On one visit back to Oahu to eat at Helena’s Hawaiian Food, before I opened my own former restaurant serving Hawaii’s local food in Philadelphia, Elaine, the late matriarch of the restaurant and daughter of its founder Helen Chock, whispered to me, “When I lived on the mainland, I made kalua pig in a crock pot with liquid smoke.” I felt validated and comforted.
But there are other, better ways to make it and, over the years, I’ve tinkered with the process, both for my former food truck and then for my restaurant. I’ve continued to evolve my recipe, which is so simple, it’s barely a recipe but more like a trick—replacing the liquid smoke with lapsang souchong, the smokiest tea I can find.
I’d save the cooking liquid and use it like a master sauce. I added whole bananas to the slow cooker. (This is the culinary trick I am most proud of coming up with. Bananas and pork have their own mystical union.) I wrapped the pork shoulder in banana leaves. When reheating the pork for service, we’d first simmer the cabbage in the reserved juices. The cabbage was heaven on its own—you almost didn’t need the pig at all. The flavor of the pork in the juices suffices, enshrouding the cabbage.
I ate it standing up in my food truck between customers. After I opened the restaurant, my lunches frequently consisted of a bowl of rice with scraps of fresh poke, a strand of kalua pig and a bouquet of pig-scented cabbage, hunched over my desk in our basement office until I had to sprint upstairs to assist our cooks and get through intense lunch rushes.
Both the food truck and restaurant are becoming distant memories to me now, like those cousin sleepovers. But eating kalua cabbage erases the distance between all these memories and takes me back.
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)Ingredients2½poundsbonelesspork shoulder, trimmed1quartlow-sodium chicken broth1largebanana, scrubbed2tablespoonskosher salt2tablespoonssmokytealeaves, like lapsang souchongBanana leaves(optional)1largeor 2 small headsgreen cabbage(about 4 pounds), cored and cut into 2-inch strips
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)
Ingredients
2½poundsbonelesspork shoulder, trimmed
1quartlow-sodium chicken broth
1largebanana, scrubbed
2tablespoonskosher salt
2tablespoonssmokytealeaves, like lapsang souchong
Banana leaves(optional)
1largeor 2 small headsgreen cabbage(about 4 pounds), cored and cut into 2-inch strips
DirectionsCombine pork shoulder, 1 quart broth, 1 banana (do not cut or peel), 2 tablespoons salt and 2 tablespoons tea leaves in a 6-quart slow cooker. Cover with banana leaves, if using. Cover the slow cooker and cook on Low for 8 hours or until the pork is fork-tender and easily shredded.Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Breanna GhazaliTransfer the pork to a large mixing bowl. Using a fine-mesh sieve, strain the liquid over a large pot, reserving any meat; discard the banana, tea leaves and banana leaves, if using. Let the liquid cool slightly. Skim off half of the rendered fat with a spoon.Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Breanna GhazaliMeanwhile, use 2 forks to pull the pork into strands, discarding any gristle.Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Breanna GhazaliPlace the pot over medium-low heat; add cabbage. Bring to a simmer; cook, stirring frequently, until the cabbage has softened, about 20 minutes. Add the pork to the pot and stir to combine.Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Breanna GhazaliNutrition InformationServing Size: 1 cupCalories 191, Fat 7g, Saturated Fat 2g, Cholesterol 63mg, Carbohydrates 10g, Total Sugars 6g, Added Sugars 0g, Protein 21g, Fiber 4g, Sodium 690mg, Potassium 669mgEatingWell.com, October 2024
Directions
Combine pork shoulder, 1 quart broth, 1 banana (do not cut or peel), 2 tablespoons salt and 2 tablespoons tea leaves in a 6-quart slow cooker. Cover with banana leaves, if using. Cover the slow cooker and cook on Low for 8 hours or until the pork is fork-tender and easily shredded.Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Breanna GhazaliTransfer the pork to a large mixing bowl. Using a fine-mesh sieve, strain the liquid over a large pot, reserving any meat; discard the banana, tea leaves and banana leaves, if using. Let the liquid cool slightly. Skim off half of the rendered fat with a spoon.Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Breanna GhazaliMeanwhile, use 2 forks to pull the pork into strands, discarding any gristle.Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Breanna GhazaliPlace the pot over medium-low heat; add cabbage. Bring to a simmer; cook, stirring frequently, until the cabbage has softened, about 20 minutes. Add the pork to the pot and stir to combine.Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Breanna GhazaliNutrition InformationServing Size: 1 cupCalories 191, Fat 7g, Saturated Fat 2g, Cholesterol 63mg, Carbohydrates 10g, Total Sugars 6g, Added Sugars 0g, Protein 21g, Fiber 4g, Sodium 690mg, Potassium 669mg
Combine pork shoulder, 1 quart broth, 1 banana (do not cut or peel), 2 tablespoons salt and 2 tablespoons tea leaves in a 6-quart slow cooker. Cover with banana leaves, if using. Cover the slow cooker and cook on Low for 8 hours or until the pork is fork-tender and easily shredded.
Transfer the pork to a large mixing bowl. Using a fine-mesh sieve, strain the liquid over a large pot, reserving any meat; discard the banana, tea leaves and banana leaves, if using. Let the liquid cool slightly. Skim off half of the rendered fat with a spoon.
Meanwhile, use 2 forks to pull the pork into strands, discarding any gristle.
Place the pot over medium-low heat; add cabbage. Bring to a simmer; cook, stirring frequently, until the cabbage has softened, about 20 minutes. Add the pork to the pot and stir to combine.
Nutrition InformationServing Size: 1 cupCalories 191, Fat 7g, Saturated Fat 2g, Cholesterol 63mg, Carbohydrates 10g, Total Sugars 6g, Added Sugars 0g, Protein 21g, Fiber 4g, Sodium 690mg, Potassium 669mg
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1 cupCalories 191, Fat 7g, Saturated Fat 2g, Cholesterol 63mg, Carbohydrates 10g, Total Sugars 6g, Added Sugars 0g, Protein 21g, Fiber 4g, Sodium 690mg, Potassium 669mg
Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories 191, Fat 7g, Saturated Fat 2g, Cholesterol 63mg, Carbohydrates 10g, Total Sugars 6g, Added Sugars 0g, Protein 21g, Fiber 4g, Sodium 690mg, Potassium 669mg
EatingWell.com, October 2024
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