Cabbage and Spinach Rolls with Yellow Mustard and Wasabi Jelly

Cabbage is central to northern Chinese cooking. It is an ingredient that is so humble that it needs to be carefully presented, and thoughtfully prepared, to make it interesting. This dish is based on a old Beijing appetiser, which is cabbage soaked in mustard oil and served chilled. When I first ate it, I thought it was wonderful, but that the mustard needed to be toned down as its flavours came in fast and sharp. So I set out to achieve a balance; the scallop acts as a foil to the prawn; t