This season in Northeast China, most dinner tables will feature a hot pot with pickled cabbage and mutton. As it happens, when Zhao Benshan hosted the Taiwanese beauty Lin Chi-ling recently, he specifically recommended this dish: "This is Northeast China's pickled cabbage, which has a different taste from the southern kind. This is mutton; it warms you up in the cold weather..." After trying it, Lin Chi-ling remarked, "Adding pickled cabbage to the hot pot, the sourness cuts the richness of the meat. I ate a lot of it."
As the old saying goes, "a hundred vegetables are not as good as cabbage," says Xin Xiurong, director of the Nutrition Department at the 305th Hospital of the People's Liberation Army. This is because cabbage is rich in various nutrients like protein, dietary fiber, calcium, iron, carotene, and vitamin C. Pickled cabbage is made by fermenting cabbage, so it not only retains some of the original nutrients but also stimulates the appetite and aids digestion through the fermentation process. At the same time, the refreshing sour taste of the pickled cabbage perfectly counteracts the gaminess of the mutton, which explains Lin Chi-ling's comments.
Traditionally, Northeast China's pickled cabbage hot pot was made with pork belly, pickled cabbage, and vermicelli. Xin Xiurong suggests that since pork belly is relatively high in cholesterol, it's better to switch to a pickled cabbage and mutton hot pot. Eating mutton in this season can increase the body's heat to resist the cold, and you don't have to worry about it causing "internal heat" because the pickled cabbage can, to a certain extent, help clear it. Furthermore, it's best to replace the vermicelli with konjac shirataki, as konjac helps lower fat and aids in weight loss, and its texture is similar to vermicelli.
Of course, since pickled cabbage is a preserved product, it contains nitrites. Although it's delicious and helps cut the richness of the mutton, one should not overindulge, as having it at every meal can have some negative effects on your health. (Source: Health Times)