Cabbage Archives • Mushroompride

Steamed Cabbage Rolls – Delishar

When I first started my cooking blog, I shared a very similar recipe. The difference is in the sauce, and the filling. This one uses fish paste and has a lighter, more kid-friendly sauce. The former uses minced fresh prawns and minced pork, served with a sweet and spicy sauce.

As usual, the husband’s face lit up when he saw cabbage rolls served during dinner. I mentioned that the husband does not eat/like fish paste. But that night, he probably finished a whole plate on his own, without knowing that the filling contains fish paste of course. Fish paste gives the filling a lighter texture, not as dense as the one using prawns. And the kids get to enjoy this lovely dish, as I made a non-spicy light sauce to go together with the dish. It was great with steamed rice!

New Cabbage Rolls insta 1

Usually, I wrap my cabbage rolls from the leave part, but this time round I started rolling it from the base of the leaf. Both ways works well as you can see. This means it gives you the flexibility to start rolling from the top or base of the leaf, depending on the ‘condition’ of the leaf. If that make any sense. For example you don’t have to discard the leaf if there are some small tears, or blemishes on the base. Just start rolling with the ‘most damaged’ part, whether it is the top or base of the leaf. That way, we reduce wastage.

Remember to tune in to 《弹指间的料理》, channel 8 at 8pm, 6th April 2016 (Wed) and watch me make this dish along side Dennis Chew as he tries to recreate this recipe. The show is hosted by hilarious Ben Yeo & Vivian Lai, so don’t miss it!

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Steamed Cabbage Rolls

Delishar

Makes about 12 rolls

Cabbage Rolls

200 g fish paste
250 g minced pork or chicken
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
2 tbsp spring onions
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 cloves garlic minced
1 lemongrass ends and inner part minced
1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
White pepper to taste
12-14 leaves of napa cabbage
12-14 chives to tie optional

Sauce

1 to 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp wolf berries
1 lemongrass bruised
3 slices galangal/ blue ginger or old ginger
1 shallot
1-2 coriander root
2-3 lime leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp sugar
fish sauce to taste
corn starch slurry

In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients for cabbage rolls except cabbage and chives.
Using a wooden spoon, chopsticks, or hand, stir vigorously in one direction until filling has a sticky consistency.
Allow to marinate in the chiller while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Bring a pan of water to boil, then add 2 leaves of napa cabbage.
Blanch for 30-45 seconds or until soften and pliable.
Continue blanching until all napa cabbage leaves are done.
Then do the same for the chives.
To wrap, scoop about 2-3 tbsp of meat filling onto an inch above the end/stem part of the napa cabbage.
Roll upwards, then tuck in the sides as you continue to roll.
Tie a butterfly knot around the cabbage roll with the blanched chives.
Place cabbage roll on heat proof plate, seam side down.
Continue until all the fillings are used.
Get a steamer going over high heat.
Steam for 10 minutes or until done.
Drain away excess liquid collected in the plate, or add that to the chicken broth.

Sauce

In a sauce pan, bring the chicken broth to a boil then add lemongrass, ginger, shallot, garlic, and wolf berries.
Lower heat to medium and allow to infuse for 3-5 minutes.
Season with sugar and fish sauce.
While stirring, drizzling in corn starch slurry to thicken sauce.
Remove from heat, discard lime leaves, ginger, shallot, and garlic.

You can substitute fish paste for mashed tofu for an even healthier alternative!

New Cabbage Rolls

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Stuffed Cabbage Soup – Delishar

Napa or Nappa cabbage is a kind of Chinese cabbage widely used in Asian cuisine. It is the cabbage that is used for making Kim Chi. Napa cabbage grows into an oblong shape with large, crinkly light green leaves on the outer layers. The leaves will gradually become a light yellow colour in the inner layers.

The large surface area of each layer makes the vegetable a great choice for wrapping meat. The leaves has a sweet and somewhat celery like flavour, which makes it very palatable. The thick white part of the leaf remains crunchy after cooking, adding texture to the dish.

Some nutritional facts about Napa Cabbage:

Incredibly low in calories
Packed with anti-oxidant
Excellent source of folates & Vitamin C
Contains many essential vitamins and minerals

Personally, I love using cabbage in soup because it lends a little natural sweetness to balance the saltiness of the soup. Usually, I would make cabbage wraps with a steamer and sauce over method. However, I was craving for some boiling hot soup and cabbage wraps at the same time. So, I dropped the cabbage wraps in the broth to cook, and killed 2 birds with 1 stone.

The girls and husband was ecstatic to find out what was for dinner that night, and could not wait to dig in. Happy faces & satisfied bellies, I could not be any happier with this recipe! Don’t skip the step on scalding the cabbage leaves briefly with boiling water. This process makes it more pliable to work with when wrapping the meat.

Stuffed Cabbage Soup

Delishar

500 g minced pork
3 tbsp spring onions chopped & green part only
1 tbsp ginger grated
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp shao xing wine
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp corn flour
White pepper to taste
14 chinese napa / wong bok cabbage leaves
5 cups 1.2L chicken stock or water
Enough spring onion to secure cabbage
Coriander leaves for garnishing

In a mixing bowl, add pork, ginger, spring onions, sugar, soy sauce, shao xing wine, pepper, and corn flour.
Using a wooden spoon, chopsticks, or hand, stir vigorously in one direction until filling has a sticky consistency.
Leave to marinate while preparing cabbage.
In a large pan, bring salted water to boil and blanch napa cabbage until soft (about 30-45 seconds).
Do the same for the spring onions.
To wrap, scoop about 2-3 tbsp of meat filling onto an inch above the end/stem part of the napa cabbage.
Roll upwards, then tuck in the sides as you continue to roll.
Tie a butterfly knot around the cabbage roll with the blanched spring onion.
Continue until all the fillings are used.
In your wok, bring chicken stock to boil over medium high heat.
Gently drop in all the cabbage rolls, and bring it back up to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat to medium low, and allow to cook for 12-15 minutes.
Serve garnished with coriander leaves.