CHOU VERT (BIG CABBAGE)

Serves 4

One of our favorite restaurants serves food from a country called Vietnam. If you’ve never tried this kind of food, you should give it a shot! Most Vietnamese restaurants are full of healthy choices for you, and their herbs and spices taste so fresh! Just make sure that what you order doesn’t have soy sauce, which often has wheat as a first ingredient.

We wanted to use those Vietnamese flavors at home, so we decided to make this cabbage dish. We wanted to call it something fun, so we called it the French name for cabbage. It’s silly and fun to pronounce “shoe verr” when we talk about cabbage for dinner—makes it seem so fancy! We think it makes sense, since French was once spoken in Vietnam.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 Tbsp lard, or duck fat (our favorite)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ head of cabbage, sliced into ribbons
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 2 tsp cilantro, chopped fine
• ½ tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS AND HOW KIDS CAN HELP

1. Melt fat in a frying pan or wok over medium heat.
2. Add garlic and cabbage and toss in pan to coat thoroughly.
3. Continue to cook, stirring often, until cabbage is wilted and slightly browned, 6 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and mix in onion, cilantro and salt.