Like any other vegetable, the napa cabbage which has a bright green color is one of the most nutritious vegetables known to man. Although many people come across it in the grocery store, most don’t know how it’s prepared and therefore choose not to buy it. With no clear information on how to prepare it, nor its benefits to the body, most people walk past it leaving it on the grocery store shelves. You can get fresh napa cabbage from Hitchcock Farms and other farms and prepare various meals out of it which are not only sumptuous, but also nutritious to the body. Its soft texture which is between celery and bok choy can be used to make sweet delicacies. Here are 4 easy recipe ideas for napa cabbage that you can use.
Napa cabbage stuffed rolls
You can make stuffed rolls from napa cabbage. To do this, you need the large, outer leaves of the cabbage. Then blanch the whole leaves until they wilt. Next, stuff them with beans, rice and meat such as ground beef or pork depending on your preference.
Another way to prepare the rolls is to cut the leaves into two and either steam or boil them until they are soft and tender. Then fill them with a mixture of rice and meat or sausage. Finally, add some tomato sauce at the top and then bake. Serve with the rolls with sauce.
Stir-fried napa cabbage
Most tasty stir-fried meals at Asian restaurants have Napa cabbage as one of the ingredients. To prepare stir-fried napa cabbage, add Napa cabbage to the stir fry. While doing this, separate the cabbage’s white stems and then cut them into small pieces. You need the green leaves to the stir fry toward the end while cooking since these leaves take less time to cook.
If you’d like the Korean version of stir-fried cabbage, you have to add ingredients such as garlic, salt, soy sauce, Asian sesame oil, a tablespoon of water, Korean hot red-pepper, sugar and vegetable oil to the Napa cabbage while cooking it over high heat. You will first need to heat some oil in a skillet over high heat. Then add the napa cabbage and season it with a pinch of salt before stir-frying until the cabbage wilts. This should take around 3 to 5 minutes. Afterward, remove the cabbage and pour the dressing and mix it to combine all the ingredients. Serve your mixture in a dish and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
Soup
To prepare napa cabbage soup, add some shredded napa cabbage pieces to any soup of your liking. But, for the best experience add the shredded napa cabbage in chicken and beef soups.
Korean Quick Kimchi
Quick Kimchi is the spicy version of a Korean side dish made from Lacto-fermented Napa Cabbage. While the traditional recipe involves fermenting the napa cabbage in brine in an airtight glass canning jar for several days, you can still prepare this side dish at home. Before putting the napa cabbage in the container and sealing it, add some garlic, salt, hot pepper or pepper sauce, radishes, and onions and let it chill overnight. You can also include some rice or wine vinegar.
So, as you see there are many recipe ideas for napa cabbage. Whether you are making soup out of the Napa cabbage, salad, rolls or any other side dish, the napa cabbage will never fail you. Just ensure that you follow the recipe to the end for a unique and delicious meal.
