Â鶹Éç

Method

1. To make the thick vinaigrette, place the garlic and sea salt in a pestle and mortar and grind to make a paste. If you don’t have a pestle and mortar, you can do this with the back of a spoon in a bowl.

2. Add the mustard to the paste, then the soy sauce and vinegar and mix to incorporate.

3. Pour all that into a food processor, making sure not to leave any behind. Add the oils, honey and mayonnaise, and blend on high speed for 20–30 seconds. The result will be a thick, almost frothy vinaigrette which will hold without separating for at least a couple of days. Add a good grind of black pepper and stir that in.

4. To make the cabbage, heat a cast iron skillet over a high heat until smoking hot. Dribble the pieces of cabbage with a little olive oil, then place them flat in the skillet. Don’t worry about charring, it’s what you want! Turn them occasionally and check that the tight slabs of leaves are softening. It will take 15–20 minutes. You will need to do this in a couple of batches.

5. Meanwhile, make the black bean sauce. Put the black beans into warm water to soften, this will take around 2 minutes. Put the soy sauce and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat to dissolve the sugar, then bring to the boil. In a separate small bowl, mix the cornflour with a tablespoon or two of water to make a slurry then add that to the pan. Stir until the sauce thickens a little. Drain the black beans and add them in. Stir and set aside to cool.

6. To make the XO seasoning, blend the sheets of seaweed in a food processor until finely chopped. Smash up all the crisps – I find the best way is to open the bag a little to let out the air, then bash liberally with the end of a wooden rolling pin. In a bowl mix the seaweed, crushed snacks, crispy onions and chilli flakes until they are a well-mixed rubble.

7. To assemble, dress each piece of cabbage first with a generous amount of the vinaigrette, then spoon over a quarter of the black bean sauce. Finally pile on the XO seasoning.