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I worked hard weeding in my iris bed out front today.  I’m so tired, I’ll be fixing this for dinner tonight.  It goes together quite fast and Chinese is my go-to when I’m this tired.   I have a nice pork steak leftover in the refrigerator so I’ve decided on this recipe for dinner.   A quick stir fry is usually what I do to pull off a fast, effortless yet tasty meal.  And I have a fresh head of cabbage on hand.

Virtually the entire lotus plant is edible and some parts are even used in making Chinese medicines.  The tubers or roots are crunchy and very mild in taste, very similar to water chestnuts in flavor and texture and great for use in Chinese stir-fries for added crunch.  I’ve read they even use the blossoms in cooking as well but have never come across a recipe using them to date.  They do dry the slightly sweet leaves and sell them on-line.  I have read they tend to be aromatic when cooked, but have no experience there.  If you have lotus flowers growing your own pond, I would encourage you to use real lotus leaves for this recipe, or as do, use outer cabbage leaves as a stand-in.  The shape is similar and visual impact is nice on the plate.   Cabbage is also slightly sweet and is just so good in Chinese food!

We love this dish!  This dish may sound spicy upon first reading, but I assure you, it is not, as I don’t care for overly spicy food.   Many of you may want to increase the Sambal Oelek, in fact, or maybe double the jalapeno!  This dish has just a tingle of heat on the tongue (as written) and that’s all the heat I want.  A little bit of mashed cauliflower seasoned with a dab of Sambal Oelek chili paste really rounds the flavors out on this.

This recipe is suitable for Atkins Phase 2 and beyond as well as other ketogenic diets.  Omit the sherry and those on Atkins Induction can also enjoy this delightful concoction.

INGREDIENTS:

3 T. coconut oil (or your preferred oil)

9 oz. pork loin, trimmed of all fat, sliced julienne-style

3 T. total dry sherry or white wine

3 T. total low-sodium soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos

2½ c. finely shredded green cabbage

3 outer cabbage leaves (or real lotus leaves), blanched in boiling water

½ c. green onions, chopped (I use the white ends only in this)

1 large jalapeno, seeded, chopped fine

1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 tsp. sea salt

2¼-2½ c. butter-seasoned cauliflower mash

1 tsp. Sambal Oelek chile paste

½ small carrot, peeled, shaved into long thin strips

VARIATION:  Use lean, trimmed beef slices in small slices instead of pork.

DIRECTIONS:  Blanch the 3 outer cabbage leaves (bowls) in boiling water for 1-2 minutes and remove to paper towels to dry.  Set aside for now.    Place julienned pork in a bowl with 2 T. of the sherry and 1½ T. of the soy sauce.  Mix with your hands and let marinate about 10 minutes while you cut up the other ingredients.

In a small non-stick skillet, mix the leftover cauliflower mash with the tsp. of Sambal Oelek.  It will turn the cauli pink when uniformly stirred.  Turn heat on low and warm while you do the stir-fry.

In a heated wok, melt the coconut oil over high heat.  Add the julienned pork and stir-fry until it begins to brown.  Add cabbage, green onion, jalapeno, ginger and garlic to the wok and continue to stir-fry.  Sprinkle the mixture with the sea salt, add the strips of carrot you have made with a carrot peeler and stir a couple minutes to let the carrot slightly cook. Add the remaining tablespoon sherry and the remaining 1½ tablespoons soy sauce.

To serve, spoon 1/3 of the pink cauliflower ‘rice’ onto each leaf of cabbage and spread out a bit, leaving the dark edge of the leaf exposed.  Then spoon on 1/3 of the meat mixture on top of the cauli-rice mixture and serve your family and guests at once.  I found one of these filled me up like a tick, as we say in the South.  My husband did eat two.  And yes, I do eat the ‘lotus leaf’ or cabbage leaf “bowls”.   🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 3 servings, each contains:

439 cals., 26.7g fat, 13.93g carbs, 6.0g fiber, 7.93g NET CARBS, 23.3g protein, 1178 mg sodium