Napa cabbage is a beloved vegetable broadly utilized in East Asian cuisines for its versatility. From gyoza to sizzling pot to straightforward stir-fries, we’ve gathered a wide range of scrumptious Napa cabbage recipes so that you can attempt!
Assist! What can I make with an enormous head of Napa cabbage? Moreover utilizing it as a tasty filling for dumplings, there are numerous extra artistic methods to make use of it. Right here, we’re going to be taught extra about Napa cabbage and how one can incorporate it in infinite recipes.
What’s Napa Cabbage?
A number of fast information:
- Napa cabbage, often known as Chinese language cabbage or hakusai in Japanese, belongs to the huge Brassica household (like broccoli and Brussels sprouts). Nevertheless, it’s extra intently associated to bok choy, as they’re from the identical plant species.
- The title “napa cabbage” got here from the Japanese phrase “nappa” (菜っ葉), which implies leafy inexperienced, but it surely has no connection to the California locale.
- You possibly can simply distinguish napa cabbage from common cabbage by its distinctive rectangular form and ruffled leaves with thick white ribs. The leaves are tightly packed and vary in shade from gentle inexperienced to pale yellow.
- It’s extremely immune to chilly climate, making it one of the vital widespread winter greens in Japanese and different East Asian cuisines.
- Napa cabbage is a nice supply of dietary fiber, important for digestion. It’s additionally low in energy and full of vitamins reminiscent of folate and Vitamin B.
- You will discover napa cabbage at Asian markets, and a few main grocery shops carry it as effectively. Keep away from napa cabbages with limp stems or wilted free leaves.
Napa Cabbage vs Common Cabbage
Uncooked Napa cabbage has a milder, extra delicate taste than common cabbages, and as soon as cooked, it develops an outstandingly candy style. Whereas the leaves are lighter in texture, the white stems are crisp and juicy.
In comparison with different cabbages, Napa cabbage is the tenderest selection and cooks way more shortly. This makes it a wonderful alternative for including pure sweetness to dishes like soups, stews, braises, and sizzling pots.
Find out how to Cook dinner with Napa Cabbage
There are lots of attention-grabbing methods to cook dinner with Napa cabbage! You possibly can eat it each uncooked or cooked. Like different cabbages, napa is nice for bulking up a dish.
Earlier than cooking, it’s vital to separate the leaves from the thick stalks and add them individually, because the leaves wilt shortly.
To get pleasure from it uncooked, finely shred it and add it to slaws, salads, or use it as a noodle topping. It’s also glorious for pickling. When you’ve got a number of leftover leaves after making a recipe, toss them into stir-fries or soups.
In East Asian cuisines, this leafy inexperienced is a should for decent pots and stews due to its candy and tender nature. Now, let’s check out our greatest Napa cabbage recipes!
12 Straightforward Napa Cabbage Recipes You’ll Love
1. Napa Cabbage Stir-Fry
This stir-fry will simply dissipate a complete head of Napa cabbage! It solely requires a fast cook dinner in a sizzling pan, completed with a seasoning of soy sauce and freshly floor black pepper. Smoked bacon provides numerous taste, however be at liberty to depart it out for a vegetarian model.
“This made a terrific heat lunch on a chilly November day. Served it with brown rice & a bowl of miso soup with seaweed. I solely had dried mushrooms, so after soaking them, used the water for my soup. Actually scrumptious & satisfying!” — Onsen
2. Mille-Feuille Nabe
Mille-feuille nabe is a straightforward Japanese sizzling pot made with Napa cabbage and pork stomach slices, cooked in a savory dashi broth. It’s simply one of the vital widespread sizzling pot recipes loved in Japanese houses.
“I bought my each day JOC electronic mail and determined to make it for dinner. It turned out unbelievable! Such a young taste and the ponzu dip/inexperienced onion/ togarashi provides it a pleasant kick. I served it with ume natto, ahi sashimi, shredded daikon, and rice.” — Gina
3. Creamy Napa Cabbage and Bacon Pasta
Candy, tender Napa cabbage nestled in penne pasta with a creamy sauce—it’s all the pieces you want for a comforting, scrumptious meal. The marginally charred panko topping provides an additional layer of taste!
“What a easy dish to make! I all the time battle to make use of up leftover cabbage so I used to be nice having with this, by no means thought cabbage would achieve this effectively as consolation meals.” — Julia vB
4. Fast Korean Contemporary Kimchi
It’s a no brainer to make use of Napa cabbage to make kimchi, however should you’re in search of one thing faster, do that Korean recent kimchi. All you want are garlic, inexperienced onions, fish sauce, gochugaru, and apricot jam to create the unbelievable, punchy paste. There’s no fermentation concerned, making it fast and simple.
“This can be a GREAT fast kimchi recipe. Tremendous tasty. Our household beloved it, thanks!” — Corinna
5. Pickled Napa Cabbage
This pickled napa cabbage is a welcoming facet dish to go along with steamed rice or any Japanese or Asian meal. It’s tremendous straightforward and fast to make! You possibly can taste it with sesame oil and sesame seeds, or with kombu and rice vinegar.
“Straightforward and scrumptious salad!! I used to be do the sesame taste and added some bean sprouts and a few pickled daikon and eat it for lunch. Was style actually good and refreshing.” — Marco
6. Japanese Sizzling Pot (Yosenabe)
A wintertime favourite, yosenabe is a real “something goes” sizzling pot. It’s the right meal for utilizing up leftover Napa cabbage, greens, and meat.
“I made this recipe in the course of the latest US chilly snap and it actually hit the spot and stored us heat! I appreciated going again to fundamentals with the broth on this one–I’ve been doing numerous experimenting with totally different seasonings for it, and I beloved the return to easy magnificence.” — John H
7. Napa Cabbage Gyoza
These Napa cabbage gyoza are crispy, juicy, and bursting with taste! You’ll get pleasure from them much more with the miso dipping sauce.
“This recipe was nice!! I made the gyoza wrappers by hand for the primary time and along with your recipe they turned out very well. The gyoza itself was unbelievable.” — Yelissa
8. Asian Coleslaw
Wearing a tangy and candy sesame dressing, this wholesome slaw is full of taste. It enhances BBQ meats, tacos, ahi tuna steak, and different Asian dishes. I used common inexperienced cabbage, however you’ll be able to simply swap it with any leftover Napa cabbage you may have within the fridge.
“Okay WOW!! This recipe for the slaw is so rattling good!! I served it with Ahi and added a number of issues, edamame, mango, and sliced jalapeños. For the dressing, I added a bit little bit of peanut butter. It was so good!!!! 100.%%!! Greatest Recipe!!” — Kimberly
9. Stir-Fried Greens
This savory Japanese stir-fried greens is a successful template for utilizing up leftover cabbage (Napa or common) and different greens within the fridge. I added sliced pork for protein, however you’ll be able to simply change it with different proteins like rooster, seafood, or tofu. The greens’ naturally crispy texture provides to the dish.
“As soon as all the pieces was chopped, it solely took quarter-hour. I used a small meat tenderizer to make the pork even thinner. This recipe will certainly be added to the rotation of weeknight dinners!” — Stephanie
10. Sizzling Pot for One
Tender pork stomach cooked in a scrumptious and savory katsuo dashi with napa cabbage and enoki mushrooms. This can be a fast but fancy lunch for stay-at-home mothers and dads, in addition to folks working from dwelling.
“Thanks for this recipe and for opening the door to the world of Donabe cooking for me. I bought mine every week in the past and coked this dish tonight. It was all the pieces that I hoped for: easy, wholesome, recent, clear.” — Xavier
11. Steamed Greens with Miso Sesame Sauce
Wholesome and filled with taste, this steamed vegetable recipe is the quickest strategy to get veggies in your plate. Served with an umami-packed dipping sauce, you’ll need to return for an additional serving!
“We love this sauce, and the recommendations on steaming the veggies are so helpful (though I’ve been steaming veggies for many years)!” — Virginia
12. Chukadon (Chinese language-Model Rice Bowl)
When you may have a number of leaves of Napa cabbage sitting within the fridge, attempt making this Chinese language-style rice bowl dish. Cooked in a soy-infused sauce, it captures all of the flavors of your favourite takeout!
“Wow! One other superb recipe. And really easy. Love the gravy taste. We’re gluten-free and we’re capable of finding GF oyster sauce.” — Lauren
What’s your favourite means to make use of Napa cabbage? For those who benefit from the recipes above, I’d love to listen to from you within the feedback beneath!