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Recipe Detail Page
Grilled Red Curry Cabbage Skewers with Nam Jim Dressing
Autumn 2025
Boiled, marinated in Thai curry paste and threaded onto skewers, cabbage becomes a revelatory side dish off the grill. It’s finished with nam jim, the sweet, sour, salty and spicy Thai sauce/dip that’s delicious on just about everything. It’s traditionally sweetened with palm sugar; here, we substituted coconut sugar, which you can find at most supermarkets.
Makes 6 cabbage skewers
NAM JIM SAUCE
3 tbsp (45 mL) coconut sugar or light brown sugar
1/4 cup (60 mL) fresh lime juice
3 tbsp (45 mL) Asian fish sauce
1 large clove garlic, minced, about 2 tsp (10 mL)
1 fresh red finger chili, stemmed, finely chopped with seeds
1 tbsp (15 mL) finely sliced cilantro stems
CABBAGE SKEWERS
6 8-inch (20-cm) wooden skewers
1 medium-size green cabbage, about 3 lbs (1.36 kg)
3 tbsp (45 mL) Thai red curry paste, preferably Thai Kitchen
2 tbsp (30 mL) canola oil
1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh lime juice
1. For the nam jim, whisk sugar, lime juice and fish sauce in a small mixing bowl until sugar is dissolved. Whisk in garlic, chili and cilantro stems. Transfer to a large ramekin or small bowl. Cover and refrigerate up to 1 day, though it’s best used within 2 hours.
2. For the skewers, soak skewers in boiling water to cover for 1 hour. Drain and pat dry.
3. Carefully halve cabbage through core. Working one half at a time, slice cabbage crosswise about 1 1/4 inch (3 cm) thick then cut slices into rough 1 1/4-inch (3-cm) squares until you have about 14 cups (3.5 L). Save rest of cabbage for another use.
4. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Line two baking sheets with paper towel. Working in two batches, boil cabbage until crisp-tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per batch from the moment it hits the water. Transfer with a spider to prepared sheets to drain.
5. In a large mixing bowl, whisk curry paste, oil and lime juice. When cabbage is cool enough to handle, transfer to bowl and mix thoroughly to coat evenly. Thread cabbage onto skewers, dividing evenly. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 4 hours.
6. Preheat grill to medium. Clean and oil grate.
7. Lay a strip of foil on bottom of grill. Place skewers on grill with exposed sections of skewers protected by foil. Grill, turning occasionally, until lightly charred and hot, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately with nam jim on side or spooned generously overtop.
Makes 6 cabbage skewers
