Napa Cabbage with Carrots and Rice Wine Oyster Sauce

I should rename this to UN-Napa Cabbage with Carrots...I could not find Napa Cabbage at any of my local grocers. Boo! to that. I really have a poor and limited selection here when it comes to produce. I just have to drive too far to get to Whole Foods or any decent grocer with a wide variety of produce and I loathe driving in this city. Traffic is horrendous. Anyway...

I figured I could use plain old green cabbage in place of the Napa. Here's the problem with that-Napa is a little more delicate than green cabbage and therefore cooks faster. Super Genius that I am-I didn't adjust the cooking time so my cabbage was a little underdone. It wasn't quite tender-crisp as the recipe calls for. The carrots were perfect though and I think I can see myself just making a carrot side dish in the future with the rice wine oyster sauce.

The flavor was still good though and I know that had I just cooked the cabbage a bit longer it would have been delicious. So thanks to eatingwell.com for another really great recipe! I served it with my Salmon Patties and some Wasabi Mayo. Click HERE for my sinfully easy Salmon Patty recipe.

Napa Cabbage with Carrots and Rice Wine Oyster Sauce

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/4 cup thinly sliced shallot (1 large)

2 teaspoons minced garlic

4 cups thinly sliced napa cabbage (about 8 ounces)

1 cup thinly sliced carrot (1 large)

Rice Wine-Oyster Sauce (recipe follows)

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or large skillet over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes within 1 to 2 seconds of contact. Swirl canola oil into the pan, add shallot and garlic and stir-fry for 10 seconds. Add cabbage and carrot and stir-fry until the cabbage just begins to wilt, about 1 minute. Stir Rice Wine-Oyster Sauce and swirl it into the pan; cook for 30 seconds. Stir-fry until the cabbage and carrot are tender-crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in sesame oil. Serve immediately.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 119 calories; 8 g fat (1 g sat, 5 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 9 g carbohydrate; 2 g protein; 2 g fiber; 235 mg sodium; 142 mg potassium

Rice Wine Oyster Sauce

1 tablespoon Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry

2 teaspoons oyster-flavored sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

Whisk rice wine (or sherry), oyster sauce, sugar and salt in a small bowl.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 9 calories; 0 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 1 g carbohydrate; 0 g protein; 0 g fiber; 201 mg sodium; 1 mg potassium.

Wasabi Mayo

2 tbsp light or fat free mayo

wasabi paste (to taste)

Mix together mayo and wasabi paste. Add the wasabi a little bit at a time as a little goes a long way. Serve alongside salmon patties for dipping.