Viral Yamitsuki "Addictive" Cabbage—How To Make It

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2 days ago

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think cabbage is one of the most seriously underrated vegetables of all time. It's so versatile, nutritious, and inexpensive...what's not to love?
So, when I saw a super viral dish called Yamitsuki Cabbage making its rounds on TikTok, I knew I had to try it.
Yamitsuki literally translates to "addictive" in Japanese, which is why it's commonly referred to as "Addictive Cabbage."
The clip from @elanneboake has nearly three million views, and fellow cabbage enthusiasts are commenting on how great the recipe is. It felt like a no-brainer to make it for my next dinner side dish.
Yamitsuki Cabbage is nothing new, and it graces the menu of nearly every Japanese Izakaya (gastropub). It's yet another recipe that has been around for ages and is suddenly becoming popular thanks to TikTok (similar to cucumber and carrot salads).
Here's my honest review of the dish and how I made it:
First, I gathered my ingredients. I bought a cabbage I found at my local Japanese grocery store, salt, garlic, white sesame seeds, sesame oil, and dried salted kombu (edible kelp).
Per the recipe, you could use any umami-boosting seasoning of your choice in place of the kombu. Options include shio koji, chicken bouillon, katsuobushi, dashi powder, or hondashi.
After measuring two tablespoons of sesame seeds, I smashed them using the back of a spoon. The recipe recommends using a mortar and pestle for this part, so I'd suggest sticking to that if you have one.
Once the sesame seeds were sufficiently ground, I set them aside and minced two cloves of garlic using a garlic press, setting that aside as well.
Next, I halved the cabbage.
After coring both halves, I loosely chopped each into one-inch pieces. Some pieces were smaller than others, but oh well.
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After the cabbage was cut, I placed the pieces in a bowl and gave them a rinse, ensuring the bowl was drained of all its water.
Then, I measured four cups of the cabbage pieces back into a dry bowl, trying to pack as much cabbage into each cup.
Next, I added half a teaspoon of salt to the cabbage.
I also added half a teaspoon of the dried salted kombu and then used tongs to mix it all. Ideally, I would've had a large bowl for this, but I made do with what I had.
Finally, I added two tablespoons of sesame oil to the crushed garlic, mixed it, and added it to the cabbage.
After a final mix, I was done! I topped it off with some of the ground sesame seeds from earlier.
After taking the first bite, I could completely understand the hype.
If you love the taste of sesame oil, you'll be obsessed with this. It has a rich, slightly salty umami flavor, and the crunch of the cabbage makes you want to keep eating. The ground-up sesame seeds also added a nice, subtle nuttiness, and the chewiness of the kombu was the perfect touch to the entire dish. I swear, I finished the entire bowl in less than five minutes.
My only note was that I should have cut the kombu into smaller pieces, so it was more evenly distributed, but everything else was perfect. It wasn't too salty or too crunchy, either. In fact, after a few minutes, the cabbage marinated in the sesame oil and became the perfect cross between soft and crisp.
I'd definitely make this again and recommend it to anyone who likes the taste of sesame. Because it's so easy to make, I could see this becoming one of my regular dinner additions (paired with Japanese fried chicken and rice, of course).
Have you tried Yamitsuki Cabbage? Let me know in the comments!
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