Barley Crêpes with Cabbage and Sauce Pierre

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At Canlis in Seattle, Best New Chef Brady Williams balances classic components with modern techniques. For his Barley Crêpes with Cabbage and Sauce Pierre, Williams envelops grilled fermented cabbage in a savory buckwheat crêpe, accompanied by rich sauce Pierre. The cabbage in this barley crêpe calls for naturally fermented Japanese ayu fish sauce. Sweeter and milder than the Vietnamese version; ayu fish sauce is available at well-stocked Asian grocery stores and at tokyocentral.com. You can order the shio koji and black vinegar in this recipe at amazon.com.

By Brady Williams

Updated on July 20, 2023

Tested by

Food & Wine Test Kitchen

Ingredients

FERMENTED CABBAGE

2 quarts water
7 tablespoons kosher salt
1 medium head green cabbage (about 2 1/2 pounds), cored, quartered, and rinsed
3 thyme sprigs
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/3 cup shio koji (such as Marukome Nama)
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons kurozu vinegar with seaweed (such as Kong Yen Vegetarian Black Vinegar)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon ayu fish sauce (such as Maruhara Ayu Gyosho)

CREPES

3/4 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 ounces)
1/3 cup whole-wheat flour (about 1 3/8 ounces)
3 tablespoons malted barley flour (about 3/4 ounce)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon clarified butter or ghee

SAUCE PIERRE

1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, divided
1/3 cup minced shallots (about 3 medium shallots)
1 3/4 cups dry vermouth
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Make the fermented cabbage

Combine 2 quarts water and salt in a large bowl, stirring until salt dissolves. Add cabbage quarters, and weigh down with a plate to completely submerge. Cover with cheesecloth, and let stand at a cool room temperature of 65°F to 70°F 5 days or up to 7 days.
Heat a grill pan over medium-high. Drain cabbage, and pat dry. Using thyme sprigs as a brush, brush cabbage with oil. Place cabbage on lightly oiled pan, and grill, turning occasionally, until charred on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes.
Chop charred cabbage. Place 31/2 cups chopped cabbage in a large bowl; reserve remaining cabbage for another use. Add shio koji, lemon zest, lemon juice, kurozu vinegar, dill, and fish sauce to chopped cabbage; stir to combine.

Make the crêpes

Whisk together milk and eggs in a large bowl. Add flours and salt; whisk until completely smooth.
Heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium; brush lightly with clarified butter just to coat bottom of skillet. Add 3 tablespoons batter, and swirl to evenly distribute batter.
Cook until bottom is golden brown, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Flip and cook until crêpe is set, about 15 seconds. Remove crêpe, and repeat with remaining batter to make a total of 8 crêpes.

Make the sauce Pierre

Melt 1/4 cup chilled butter in a medium saucepan over medium. Add shallots, and cook, stirring often, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add vermouth, and cook until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Gradually add remaining 1 1/2 cups chilled butter, whisking constantly, until all butter is incorporated and sauce is emulsified. Whisk in cream, Worcestershire, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Assemble the crêpes

Place about 1/3 cup fermented cabbage on bottom half of 1 crêpe, and fold over to create a half-moon. Place crêpe in a shallow bowl with folded edge in middle of bowl. Pour about 1/3 cup sauce Pierre into bowl along the folded edge of crêpe, filling empty side of bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining crêpes, fermented cabbage, and sauce Pierre.

Originally appeared: July 2018