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Cabbage Soup
Lidey Heuck
845 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
845
About 1 hour
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Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season with salt.
Prepare the cabbage: Remove about 12 large outer leaves, reserving the rest of the cabbage for another use. Once the water boils, lower the heat to medium so that the water reaches a gentle boil. Add the cabbage leaves, about 4 at a time, and cook until tender and flexible but leaves remain intact and maintain their crunch, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a towel-lined plate and set aside to cool slightly while you make the filling. Repeat with remaining cabbage leaves.
Prepare the filling: In a large bowl, combine pork, rice, egg, scallions, ginger and soy sauce with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
Assemble the cabbage rolls: Working with one cooked cabbage leaf at a time, place it on a cutting board or other flat surface with its stem end at the bottom. Spoon a heaping ¼ cup of the pork mixture in the center and mold the mixture into a rough 2- to 3-inch log. Pull the stem end over the meat mixture, and fold the right and left sides of the leaf over and roll tightly to the very top. Place the cabbage rolls seam-side down in a large Dutch oven or ovenproof, straight-sided saucepan. Repeat with the remaining cabbage and pork filling.
Pour the chicken broth over the cabbage rolls and bring to a boil over medium. Cover the pan, transfer to the oven, and bake until cabbage rolls are fork tender and the meat mixture is cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. Serve with ladles of broth over the rolls and a drizzle of sesame oil.
Made these with a few changes. We eliminated the kosher salt and added 1 tsp. of fish sauce. Doubled the ginger. We scattered 12 peeled garlic cloves around the rolls before adding the broth. We drizzled the cooked rolls with sesame oil and chili oil. They are very tasty, and we are looking forward to the leftovers.
We make this dish every other week it seems. It's that good. We add roughly 4-6 minced garlic cloves to this and it makes the dish. Additionally, we've used ground turkey, beef, pork, chicken and bison. All are delish! I've also made it without rice and the results were the same as with. Lastly, we've also used Savoy, Napa, and the normal green cabbage, and again, all work great! Savoy is our favorite however.
I used ground chicken and added cilantro. It was great. Tasted like a steamed dumpling so I made a quick dumpling sauce of soy, vinegar, and chili. It was perfect!
These are so delicious - a family favorite, even with my 3-year-old. They taste just like pork dumplings and are super easy to make. My one change from the recipe is that I chop up any remaining cabbage leaves that are too small to use for wraps and add them to the filling for a little more veggie presence (and so we don’t waste any cabbage). Amazing every time.
Make your life easier and skip the blanching by pulling the cabbage leaves apart and then freezing them overnight. Let them thaw and then roll. Mine were done in 30 minutes with a 10-minute rest to get any sides (ramen noodles) or garnishes ready.
These are great! One caveat: I love salt as much as the next guy, but I’m going to reduce the salt level next time. 1-1 1/2 tsp instead of two. Combined with the soy sauce, that should be the right amount of seasoning.
I love this ( and other ) stuffed cabbage recipes... but I have an easier way to soften the leaves. Put the entire head of Savoy cabbage in a steamer and steam it until it's flexible. Each leaf comes off without breaking and is easily folded and rolled.
So this is basically an pork Asian variation of Gołąbki .. or gowumpky as my kids called it but i used cheap chop meat ...
This is a phenomenal recipe. I heeded the advice above and reduced salt to 1 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal, added 1tsp Red Boat fish sauce, and substituted Coconut Secret coconut aminos for soy sauce 1:1. Everybody in my home cleaned their plates and was excited for the leftovers. The other thing I did was double the recipe and froze a dozen assembled, but uncooked for a later easy weeknight meal. I will try and report back on how that comes out.
I wanted to use a short grain brown rice for this, so I parboiled it (using the leftover cabbage water) for 15 minutes before mixing onto the pork. Worked perfectly!
I have made my own version of these for years. I don’t use the rice when my son is eating low carb. And I pan fry them before adding the stock, so the cabbage gets browned and crispy, like a fried dumpling. We call them “notstickers.”
Repeat note. I made it again and this could be my favorite NY Times recipe. Don’t change anything! It is so satisfying to roll up the little logs which stay together beautifully. This is an easy recipe despite what one thinks when faced with stuffing cabbage. Thank you Sue Li.
I keep a cabbage in the freezer at all times. When I want to make stuffed cabbage, I defrost it and cut out the core. The leaves just fall off, flexible and ready to stuff.
These were delicious! I followed some of the comments and added a tsp of fish sauce in place of some of the soy. I also nudged smashed garlic cloves between the cabbage rolls before adding the garlic and it perfumed everything beautifully. I baked mine in a casserole dish, and didn’t bring it to a boil before hand, but baked it covered with foil for around an hour and it was delicious. Drizzled with sesame oil at the end and topped with Chili Garlic Sauce. Delicious.
Added loads more ginger, a couple garlic cloves, chili flakes, and some Maggi. I also chopped the leftover cabbage head and added it to the pork mixture. Really, really good.
This was wonderful. I added one grated carrot and 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro to the meat. Otherwise, it was perfect!
These were really good. My husband and his brother loved them. The only thing I might add is some Calabrian chilis next time!
Make these every year for New Years Day and often year round for make-ahead dinners. I always add a bit of white pepper, sesame oil and a bit of shaoxing wine to the filling - it's a bit more like the filling we use for potstickers but the cabbage is on the outside. They're nice without the additions but I'm a big believer in seasoning to taste. I sometimes have no eggs but the mix holds well enough without. These freeze, defrost, and microwave well. Fantastic lazy dinner.
Instead of chicken broth, I used Trader Joe's Miso Ginger broth. I also added Thai chilies, garlic, fish sauce, basil, and cilantro. Soooo tasty, especially the next day!
This is fabulous and is going into the rotation. Only had about 3/4lb of ground pork, so reduced everything substantially. I did add about 2T of chopped cilantro, a tsp of sesame oil, tsp of chili crisp to the mix. Also added about 2 tsp tamari to homemade stock. Very fortunate to have home grown Napa cabbage fresh from the garden this morning. WOW. Loved every bite.
Made this as written and joining the chorus of folks who proclaimed this to be a barn-burner! Fantastic!!
I blanche the cabbage head whole and peel the leaves off one by one- I feel I get better untorn leaves that way. Three and then dunk again and peel off. Makes it so much easier.
Love this recipe. Have made it many times. If I can’t find savoy cabbage at the grocery it is great with regular green cabbage. I have also made it with ground beef instead of ground pork just because that is what I had on hand. Equally delicious. I have also minced some of the left over cabbage and added it to the filling.
I didn’t know I would love these so much! Tender and delicious. Subs: used 1 tablespoon fish sauce, less soy sauce, and no salt. Sliced leftover cabbage very thinly and salted & squeezed out water. Only used 1 pound pork. Still had leftover mixture that is now in the freezer. Used Arborio rice (amazing). Used leftover blanching liquid bouillon for broth; could add miso even more broth because it’s delicious.
Used Napa cabbage and it worked well
I followed the recipe as written. The result was underseasoned and underwhelming. If I were to make it again, I’d comb the comments for add-ins that add flavor and color.
This is really delicious- my only comment is that my rice wasn’t completely cooked by the end of the cooking time - I kind of enjoyed the slight crunch but I would have rather it been fully cooked. I ended up using Whole Foods 365 brand sushi rice. It’s the only short grain rice I could find.
Are you supposed to put uncooked rice in the filling?!
This is one of the best things I have made in a long time for a weeknight dish. It’s a new go-to. I did double the ginger and serve with chili crisp and a dumpling vinegar sauce on the side. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Overall, it was tasty but it was just too bland to our liking. I may need to mix with jalapeño peppers if I make this again.
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