Food Lust People Love: December 2025

Yamitsuki addictive cabbage, made with furikake seaweed seasoning, sesame oil, rice vinegar and salt, is a dish that is somehow way more than the sum of its parts. It's so good!

Food Lust People Love: Yamitsuki addictive cabbage, made with furikake seaweed seasoning, sesame oil, rice vinegar and salt, is a dish that is somehow way more than the sum of its parts. It's so good!

Like chai tea, shrimp scampi, naan bread and ghee butter, the title of this dish is repetitive but that’s how it is sometimes in English when the words are foreign. My excuse is that this recipe is adapted from one in New York Times Cooking and yamisuki addictive cabbage is what they called it.

Yamitsuki means addictive in Japanese so this cabbage is doubly addictive by name, if not in practice. We did love it but to say it is addictive would be a bit much.

That said, I served it as a side dish with rich, fatty pan-fried salmon and it ably served the purpose it does in Japan at an izakaya – the Japanese equivalent of a pub – where yamitsuki cabbage is said to be a refreshing palate cleanser to balance other richer, fattier foods you might be eating.

Yamitsuki Addictive Cabbage

As mentioned above, this recipe is adapted from one on New York Times Cooking.

If you can’t find Taiwanese flathead or Napa cabbage, substitute what fresh green cabbage is available to you. I used Hispi cabbage also known as pointy cabbage.

Ingredients

For the cabbage:

1 lb or 450g cabbage (about ½ head)

1 tablespoon fine sea salt

For the dressing:

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 cloves garlic, finely grated

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

For seasoning and garnish:

1 tablespoon furikake seaweed seasoning, or more to taste

This is made up of nori (seaweed), toasted black and white sesame seeds, salt and sugar.

Method

Remove any wilted leaves from the cabbage. Halve the cabbage through its core and remove the solid white heart of one half. Wrap the other half up and save for another recipe.

Rip the leaves of the cabbage into rough 1 ¼-inch square pieces. Any really thick bits, like the ribs, can be cut out and sliced thinly.

Wash and drain the pieces of the cabbage in a salad spinner in the sink.

Put the cabbage pieces in a very large bowl and sprinkle them with 1 tablespoon fine sea salt, then crunch and scrunch the leaves with your hands, making sure they’re all separated, well mixed in with the salt, and beginning to soften. Let the salted cabbage sit for 10 minutes.

While the cabbage sits, finely grate the garlic into a smooth paste into a small bowl.

Whisk the sesame oil, ⅛ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper into the bowl with the garlic.

After 10 minutes, the cabbage should be slightly wilted and taste slightly salty. Test a leaf by rinsing it under running water and tasting it; it should taste like the leaf absorbed some salt. (If not, let it sit for 10 more minutes and then taste again.)

Put the cabbage pieces in the salad spinner, rinse off the salt under running water, then spin the cabbage dry. Let it sit until you are ready to dress the salad.

When you’re ready to serve the dish, transfer the cabbage to a serving bowl, add the dressing and use two large spoons (or chopsticks) to toss until coated.

Sprinkle the salad with the furikake seaweed seasoning, again making sure everything is mixed together.

Sprinkle with a little more furikake seaweed seasoning to garnish.

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 25th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter Y. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the Y recipes below: