Recipe

1 small or medium-sized domestic white cabbage
2 tbsp olive oil, for roasting
1 tsp garlic powder
A pinch of salt

Sauce (flavor bomb)
1 tbsp gochujang paste (Korean fermented chili paste)
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sesame oil

For finishing
Toasted sesame seeds
Chopped flat-leaf parsley / cilantro

Preheat the oven to 220°C. Do not shred the cabbage; instead, cut it vertically into thick wedges, keeping the core intact so that the leaves stay together. Arrange the wedges on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and garlic powder.

While the cabbage is roasting in the oven for about 25 minutes (until the edges are deeply browned and crispy), mix the gochujang, maple syrup, soy sauce, lemon juice, and sesame oil in a small bowl. This sauce has it all: heat, sweetness, acidity, and salt. Remove the cabbage from the oven. Immediately brush the hot wedges generously all over with the gochujang sauce. Return the wedges to the oven for another 5 minutes, allowing the sauce to caramelize into a glossy coating on the cabbage leaves.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped cilantro. Serve the cabbage wedges with lemony tahini sauce and steaming basmati rice.

Garlic Tahini Sauce

½ dl runny tahini
½ dl water, to thin the sauce
1 garlic clove, grated
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp maple syrup
A pinch of salt

While the cabbage is roasting, prepare the tahini sauce. Whisk together the tahini, grated garlic, lemon juice, maple syrup, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. The sauce will initially thicken, but don't worry. Add water one tablespoon at a time and whisk vigorously until the sauce becomes silky, pale, and pourable. Cook the basmati rice alongside.

Spread a generous spoonful of garlic tahini sauce over the bottom of the plate. Place the hot, crispy-edged cabbage wedge straight from the oven on top of the sauce. Garnish with black sesame seeds. Add a mound of steaming rice on the side.