Baked Purple Cabbage 香烤紫甘蓝

I like dark colored veggies and fruits due to their high potential health benefits. Considering its cost and health benefits, I rank purple cabbage number 1 among the ingredients I use. Purple cabbage is a nutrient-rich and cruciferous (Brassica) vegetable. It’s low in fat and calories but offers numerous health benefits. It’s a good source of fiber, vitamins A, C, K and B6. At the same time, it also contains small amounts of iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and zinc. Like other cruciferous (Brassica) vegetables, purple cabbage may help protect against some types of cancer. It gets its purple-reddish color from the flavonoid anthocyanin and the acidity level of the soil where it’s grown.

I am not big raw veggie eater. For most veggies, I do a quick (2-3 minutes) stir fry. This is how I cook purple cabbage at most time. I remove the pan from heat when the cabbage just starts changing color Another common purple cabbage dish is the German Rotkohl, which is sweet and sour by braising with apple, vinegar, and fruit jelly. However, I don’t like the watery look of this recipe. I found that cooking with fewer ingredients and cooking the cabbage via baking also yielded a great dish.

The purple color in the cabbage comes from anthocyanin, which changes color at different pH values. It also degrades under heat. Keeping it under acidic conditions makes anthocyanin reddish. So, adding vinegar brings additional flavor and keeps the dish colorful.