By STEVEN DAVEY
Although the price of onions is at an all time high — 99 cents a pound? I don’t think so — the cost of seasonal Asian greens has never been lower than it is in the fall. Recently, I’ve seen all manner of choy — baby bok, Shanghai, mustard greens — selling for as little as 39 cents a pound in the Chinese supermarkets along Spadina and Gerrard East. But the all-time champ for cheapest Chinese veggies ever has to be nappa cabbage currently priced at 29 cents a pound.
But what do you do with the stuff? Sure, a whole head of nappa may go for less than 75 cents, but its no bargain if you don’t know how to cook it. Nappa tastes like a cross between a lettuce and a green cabbage, and raw, tastes almost the same. Slice it thin and add a pleasantly mild crunch to any salad or slaw. Cooked, it’s even more versatile. Add chopped leaves to any stir-fry for extra texture or gently steam whole leaves and stuff them Hungarian-style with minced beef, veggies and rice.
Best of all, nappa cabbage lasts for ever in the fridge, up to six weeks the cookbooks claim. It will likely take you that long to get through all those leaves, anyway.
