Skillet-Braised Cabbage with Chicken Breast

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make skillet-braised cabbage with chicken breast? Gather your ingredients. The cooking time varies with the age of your cabbage — the younger it is, the less time it needs. Mine is fresh, in-season cabbage. The carrot and onion are small. I'm using a boneless chicken breast — half of a medium breast — but you can use a little less chicken or a little more. Use your favorite spices (I'm using bay leaf and ground black pepper).

2. Step 2:

   

   Rinse all the vegetables under cold running water and pat them dry. Trim off any wilted outer leaves from the cabbage and shred it into thin strips — the thinner you cut it, the faster it cooks. Peel the onion and carrot. Grate the carrot on the coarse side of a box grater and dice the onion small.

3. Step 3:

   

   Rinse the fresh chicken breast under cold running water and pat it dry with a paper towel. Heat a deep skillet with the vegetable oil and brown the meat over high heat until golden. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 5–7 minutes. If the chicken hasn't released its juices, you can add a little hot water (about 1/2 cup / 100 ml).

4. Step 4:

   

   Add the shredded cabbage to the chicken in the skillet, stir, cover partway, and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Stir the cabbage and chicken now and then.

5. Step 5:

   

   Add the diced onion and carrot to the cabbage and stir. Cover the skillet and keep braising the vegetables and chicken over low heat for another 20 minutes.

6. Step 6:

   

   Stir the tomato paste into 1/2 cup (100 ml) of warm water. Pour it over the cabbage and add the salt, ground black pepper, and bay leaf. Stir and braise the cabbage until done — judge the doneness to your own taste; mine needed another 10 minutes. If your tomato paste is very tart, you can add a teaspoon of sugar to balance the flavor.

7. Step 7:

   

   Serve the braised cabbage and chicken hot as a main dish for dinner. It pairs well with a potato side. It's also delicious once it has cooled.