How to Make Chinese-Style Splendid Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

October 14, 2020. Sunny and cool. Splendid Stuffed Cabbage Leaves.

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Today, I decided to make these stuffed cabbage leaves on a whim! One of my aunts loves to share videos and recipes she likes on Facebook. Once in a while a recipe catches my eye. I was really intrigued by the technique of wrapping meat filling with thinly sliced napa cabbage leaves. The idea of using a veggie leaf vs a dough wrapper seems healthier.

Anyway, I bought this huge napa cabbage with the intention of making some fancy kimchi, but did not get around to it. So, when this cabbage recipe came across my screen I thought it might be a fun new dish to try. And I am so glad I did. The steamed stuffed cabbage leaves were delicious, and my son ate 3 helpings! Yup! It’s that tasty!

Even though it looks fancy, the ingredients are simple – minced lean meat, cabbage leaves and seasoning. The fun thing about this recipe is slicing the Napa cabbage leaves thinly into wrappers. The natural structure of the leaves creates flower petals-like pieces.

Overall, there are roughly 5 steps to making this. First, preparing and blanching the cabbage leaves. Second, making the meat and veggies filling. Third, assembling the pieces. Fourth, steaming and cooking the wrapped filling, and fifth, whipping up a sauce to top the steamed cabbage rolls. Not too difficult and I’ll walk you through step by step on how to make this.

Let’s get cooking!

Ingredients for Splendid Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

These are listed them roughly in the order in which they will be used.

Cabbage Leaves Wrapper
1 Napa Cabbage
1 Tbs salt and 1 Tbs vegetable oil, or any neutral oil of choice
Water for blanching cabbage leaves

Filling
12 oz. (340 g) chicken, pork, beef or any lean meat of your choice
1 inch (2-3 cm) fresh ginger, or substitute with 1 tsp of dried ginger powder
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 mushrooms, finely chopped
3 stalks green onions, chopped
1 Tbs soy sauce, low sodium
1 Tbs oyster sauce
½ to 1 tsp salt (adjust per taste)
½ to 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 Tbs vegetable oil, or any neutral oil of choice
1 large egg

Sauce/Topping
6 cloves garlic, minced (or fewer cloves if you don’t love garlic)
¼ red pepper, chopped, or use red chilies If you like spicier sauce
1 tsp soy sauce, low sodium
¼ cup dry white wine, Chinese Shaoxing wine, or dry Sake
1 Tbs corn starch, diluted in 4 Tbs cold water to make slurry
3 stalks green onions, finely sliced

You will also need a large pan or pot to blanch the cabbage leaves, food processor to mince the meat, and a large steamer to cook the dish.

Preparing the Cabbage Petals

Let’s start by preparing the cabbage leaves. Wash and clean approx 12-15 large cabbage leaves. Trim off the top and bottom of each leaf. Cut off the green part on both sides of the cabbage leaf, leaving the middle white stem. This will be the wrapper for the meat filling. Boil a big pot of water. Add 1 Tablespoon of salt and oil. Blanch the prepared cabbage for about 2-3 minutes or until it has softened. Remove from water and let it cool. The blanched leaves stems will be soft and pliable, which makes it easier to fill with minced meat.

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Making the Minced Filling

Prepare the meat by cutting into chunks. Next, place the pieces of meat in food processor together with 1 inch (2-3 cm) of fresh ginger and blend until the meat is minced. Then, add in chopped celery, mushroom and green onions together with the soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, pepper, oil and 1 egg. Mix until well combined. Set aside.

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Assembling Splendid Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

Prepare the steamer. Add water and bring water to boil. As the steamer is getting ready, take the cooled cabbage leaves stems and slice them thinly at an angle to create little wrappers.

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Fill the wrappers and place in heat-proof plate. Starting on the outer edge of the plate, arrange the wrapped cabbage “petals” in a concentric circle so it looks like a flower. Continue until all the cabbage wrappers are used up. Place the remaining filling into the middle of the plate. Crack an egg in the middle of the filled plate.

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Place into the prepared steamer. Steam the filled cabbage petals for approx 10-15 minutes.

Making the Sauce

When ready, remove the plate from steamer. Drain the accumulated juices/steamed sauce from the plate into a small pan. Add the chopped garlic and red pepper. Stir until the liquid is bubbly. Add soy sauce, wine and corn starch slurry. Bring to a boil or until the mixture thickens, about 3-5 minutes. Pour over the cooked filled cabbage, top with chopped green onions.

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The splendid stuffed cabbage leaves are ready. Immediately serve hot with rice. Let’s eat!

Notes on Splendid Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

This dish is relatively healthy using a good balance of minced lean meat with lots of chopped veggies. Additionally, steaming makes the overall dish soft and flavorful.

Save unused cabbage leaves for a quick stir fry or toss them into your soups or stews.

When I was making this recipe, I got curious about the different types of cabbage out there and did a bit of research. I was surprised to learn that there are over 400 hundreds types, and did you know Kale is considered a type of cabbage? Here’s a handy reference if you are interested to learn more => https://leafyplace.com/types-of-cabbage/

Here’s another one on 7 types of cabbages that are popular and how to eat them => https://guide.michelin.com/sg/en/article/features/7-varieties-of-cabbage-and-how-to-use-them-sg

Recipe inspired by XiaoYinMeiShi (小穎美食) Facebook video recipe, April 27, 2020.

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