Charred Hispi Cabbage with Turmeric Gapi Butter and Crispy Shrimp Floss

Farang means foreigner in Thai. That's the whole point. We're not trying to cook the most authentic Thai food in London - there are plenty of restaurants doing that and doing it brilliantly. What we cook is specific to us, shaped by Thailand but not bound by it. So when curry leaves turn up on a Thai-ish dish, that's not a mistake. It's just what tastes good.

This dish is a good example of how we think. Hispi cabbage is a brilliant British ingredient that doesn't get enough credit. Leave the stem on, halve it, and it holds its shape on a grill or barbecue in a way that most vegetables don't. That structural integrity is what makes it work as a main rather than just a side - it can carry a dish the way a piece of protein does, which makes it genuinely useful for vegetarians rather than just an afterthought on the menu.

The gapi butter is where the flavour comes from. Gapi is fermented shrimp paste - earthy, salty, intensely savoury, the kind of umami that sits in the background and makes everything taste more like itself. If you've eaten Thai food you've almost certainly had gapi in something without knowing it. It's in most curry pastes. Asian supermarkets sell it, and most larger supermarkets carry it in the world foods aisle. Combined with turmeric, bird's eye chillies and clarified butter it becomes something genuinely worth making a batch of and keeping in the fridge.

On the smoke - whenever we do outside events with the Farang barbecues I use a mix of charcoal for consistent heat and cherry wood for smoke. Cherry wood has a sweet flavour profile that works particularly well against something spicy, sour and salty. It's not essential here but if you have access to it, use it. The difference is noticeable.

Charred Hispi Cabbage with Turmeric Gapi Butter and Crispy Shrimp Floss

Serves: 4 as a side, 2 as a main with rice Prep: 20 minutes Cook: 15 minutes Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

For the cabbage

• 2 hispi cabbages, halved lengthways with stem intact

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

• Sea salt and black pepper

For the turmeric gapi butter

• 200g unsalted butter

• 2 tsp ground turmeric

• 2 tbsp gapi paste (fermented shrimp paste)

• 3-4 bird's eye chillies, pounded to a coarse paste

• 2 garlic cloves, pounded to a coarse paste

• 1 tsp sea salt

For the shrimp floss

• 100g dried shrimp

• 1 tbsp palm sugar

• 1 tbsp fish sauce

To serve

• 20 curry leaves, deep fried until crispy and salted

• Fresh coriander leaves

• Fresh mint leaves

• Crispy fried shallots

• Lime wedges

• Jasmine rice if serving as a main

Method

1. Pound the bird's eye chillies and garlic to a coarse paste in a pestle and mortar. You want some texture left in there - not a smooth paste.

2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the pounded chilli and garlic, turmeric, gapi paste and salt, whisking until combined. Cook gently until the milk solids separate and turn golden, then strain through muslin or a fine sieve. Keep warm.

3. For the shrimp floss, pulse the dried shrimp in a food processor until fluffy. Heat a dry wok over medium heat, add the shrimp, palm sugar and fish sauce and stir constantly for 3-4 minutes until golden and crispy. Set aside.

4. Heat a barbecue or heavy griddle pan to medium-high. Brush the cut sides of the cabbage with oil and season well. Place cut-side down and cook for 4-5 minutes until properly charred. Flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes until tender but still holding its shape.

5. Transfer to a serving plate and pour the warm gapi butter over generously. Scatter the shrimp floss and crispy curry leaves over the top. Finish with fresh coriander, mint, crispy shallots and lime wedges alongside.

Chef's notes

If you're cooking over charcoal, add a chunk of cherry wood to the coals once they're up to temperature. The sweet smoke it gives off works particularly well against the heat of the butter and the saltiness of the shrimp floss.

The gapi butter keeps well in the fridge for up to a week and works on most things - grilled fish, prawns, corn, roasted vegetables. Make a full batch and use it across the week.

Omit the shrimp floss and swap the gapi for a good miso paste and this becomes fully vegetarian. The butter loses some of its depth but it's still a strong dish.

More recipes at faranglondon.co.uk. Sauces and pastes for cooking Thai at home at payst.co.uk.