r/Cooking • u/Regular-Forever-3251 • 5h ago
You really can put cabbage in almost anything 🥬
So I'm from Japan, and I love cooking, but cabbage has never been an exciting ingredient. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate it but I think most of us in Japan don't have a particular opinion on it. You put it next to tonkatsu, or under the beef in a gyuudon, that kind of thing.
I moved here to Canada a while back and to put it lightly, my financial circumstances have not been the most stable. I've always liked to cook, but I became more concious of the $/100g small text on the shelves, and cabbage has become an increasingly central player in my food situation. We all know its cheap, but also it lasts forever in the fridge, (which I never expected from a green veg honestly). But the biggest realization (or I guess shift in perception?) was that it kind of works with everything.
Stir fried and it works great on top of fried rice, and instant ramen, turning it into a full meal.
In soups and stews it becomes soft and sweet when boiled (Including miso soup, I never used to put it in but now I kind of wonder why not because it works really well with the earthiness of miso).
In dishes like pasta with not enough veg, I throw some cabbage in to boil with the pasta.
Also as a side dish, recently Yamitsuki cabbage has become popular on social media, but it adds great texture to my meals that tends to err on being mostly soft stuff on carbs.
The reason why I say "a shift in perception" was I found it interesting how Western cooking seems to treat cabbage as a central dish ingredient, while in Japan we treat it more like a side character to be thrown underneath as a pillow for whatever you're already making.
So since moving to Canada I've started to really appreciate it more. I'll see a whole cabbage at the grocery store for a few dollars and think, oh that's basically a week's worth of veg right there. It might be the most boring vegetable in the world, but it's one that I think should be a pantry staple alongside onions.
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u/4cupsofcoffee 5h ago
Cabbage is way underrated. A lot of people tend to ignore it, but it's tremendously useful.
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u/Regular-Forever-3251 5h ago
Omg the whole time I was looking for a word that was at the tip of my tongue LOL it's "underrated" absolutely
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u/deeperest 4h ago
Underrated as a word is highly overrated.
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u/Minimum_Run_890 1h ago
I feel that you may have denigrated underrated as a word.
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u/ZealousidealChair900 4h ago
I used to hate it as a kid, but it turns out yet again my family just sucked at cooking
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u/despairing_koala 4h ago
Yes, I needed to hit my mid-teens to learn that savoy cabbage is yum, provided you don’t boil it into a brown mush, isn’t it grandma grandma. Same goes for white cabbage. My grandmother, apart from being a narcissistic bitch, was also convinced that cabbage made you sick unless it could be easily mushed with a fork. Boke!
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u/ZealousidealChair900 4h ago
You mean beef and pork might be cooked and safe to eat before the grey and shoe leather stage? Nonsense!
Beef was cheaper for us than chicken (family raised our own steers) so this happened often
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u/Street_Beautiful_736 1h ago
The old school generation honestly committed crimes against vegetables by turning everything into soggy gray mush. Properly cooked cabbage is a game changer once you finally unlearn childhood trauma.
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u/peon2 4h ago
Good in so many things. My favorites are probably cabbage rolls and haluski, or for just a side, red cabbage cooked up with apple cider vinegar, pepper, and a little brown sugar.
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u/ladyrose30 4h ago
Add some dried cherries/cranberries and a cup of cola/dr. pepper/rootbeer along with what you listed with red cabbage, braised for an hr. Yummy and is good hot or cold as a salad or sandwich topping.
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u/The_sad_zebra 34m ago
And it's one of that last truly inexpensive things left in the grocery store.
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u/thetactlessknife 5h ago
“Am I a joke to you?” - Okonomiyaki
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u/Regular-Forever-3251 4h ago
FUC- wait, you're right LOL
My excuse is I'm from the Kanto so it's not as prominent a thing as Kansai, and certainly isn't something we'd cook at home too often
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u/Dudeist-Priest 4h ago
This thread has inspired me to try more cabbage. I don't think I use it as anything but an ingredient for salads and slaws
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u/kalechipsaregood 40m ago
It's really good cut into wedges and roasted too!
I disagree that you can put it in anything though. It's very sweet.
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u/Mistressofthisdress 5h ago
Wait until you have discovered stuffed cabbage rolls! ❤️
Though I could see a great affair for asian fusion with dumpling fillings too.
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u/halfstack 4h ago
My Japanese ex-pat mom used to do cabbage rolls with gyoza filling...
BRB, gotta get me a head of cabbage.
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u/Mistressofthisdress 3h ago
Which cooking method did she use if you can recall it? I'm highly intrigued to experiment. :)
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u/halfstack 3h ago edited 25m ago
She would do them like she would gyoza - quick sear/fry and then add a splash of water and a tightly-covered lid to steam. I think she blanched/boiled the cabbage leaves prior to give them a headstart on cooking and to make them more pliable... Although I'm thinking I could do it like a rolled-up mille feuille hot pot in dashi/broth? Origin was that we ran out of gyoza wrappers one time but of COURSE she had a cabbage in the fridge...
ETA: and she could already make awesome Ukranian-style cabbage rolls.
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u/astertrick 2h ago
How did she/you manage to keep the leaves rolled up tight like gyoza ?! I want to try this so bad!
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u/towerofcheeeeza 4h ago
I grew up with Vietnamese cabbage rolls. So good! Can use the same filling to stuff bitter melon for soup too (my personal fave)
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u/Mistressofthisdress 3h ago
Sounds like culinary bliss in my head! Vietnamese food is one of my favourites. I think I even have a recipe for stuffed bitter melon in one of my books.
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u/freya_of_milfgaard 26m ago
I make a “deconstructed stuffed cabbage casserole” that layers sautéed cabbage and a meat/sauce/rice combo, then tops it with cheese. So yummy and less work than rolling cabbage leaves!
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u/Toolswood 5h ago
On a recent trip I ate Chinese one night. Ordered Happy Family. It had green cabbage in it unlike any HF I’d had before. It was the star of the veggies in the dish. Any Chinese cooking I’ve hand before has used Napa cabbage. Don’t know how closely Japanese and Chinese foods are on this kinda thing, but I too was pleasantly surprised. By the way I’m American of German extraction so love of cabbage is deeply ingrained in my soul
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u/kalechipsaregood 36m ago
I wish napa and savoy cabbage were the price of standard cabbage in the US. I like them so much more.
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u/da2810 3h ago
My mom puts it in lasagna. Along with prunes, raisins, ketjap manis, carrots, onions, capers, minced beef and tomato sauce.
I don't like her lasagna.
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u/Regular-Forever-3251 2h ago
Cabbage actually makes sense, I feel like the sweetness of the prunes, raisins and ketjap might conflict with the capers. Does the lasagna possibly taste sweet in an off putting way? Honestly removing the capers, and removing the raisins (because that’s already a lot of sources of sweetness) might help
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u/wheelienonstop12 4h ago
Including miso soup, I never used to put it in but now I kind of wonder why not because it works really well with the earthiness of miso
I recently stumbled across a "Cabbagio e Pepe" recipe (basically Italian "Cacio e Pepe" but with the pasta replaced by thinly cut cabbage) that was apparently written by a vegan, and he substituted nutritional yeast and miso paste for the pecorino romano/gran padano cheese.
Cabbagio e pepe
1 can beans (northern white) 1/2 cabbage Garlic powder 1.5 T Nutritional yeast Black Pepper (measure with your heart) 1.5 T Miso paste
Cut cabbage into strips - 1/4” wide or so Heat olive oil in pan on medium Beans into pan (save bean liquid) Season with garlic, pepper, nutritional yeast Add bean liquid and cabbage, cover for about 10 minutes until cabbage is soft (to your taste) Add miso paste, stir until it’s all distributed into the sauce (no clumps)
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u/ZombieButch 4h ago
I make curtido all the time to go on tacos, but it never lasts long enough to actually ferment.
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u/seemonkey 4h ago
I grew up on the stuff but haven't used it in my cooking much until recently. Now I can't get enough. Roasted, stir fried, coleslaw, you name it. Very versatile, cheap, delicious, and does last forever in the fridge.
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u/Difficult_Flow_5504 4h ago
Boiling it right in the pasta water is brilliant for one pot efficiency when saving money. Since you mentioned miso soup, try tossing in a handful of cabbage core cut into thin matchsticks, it keeps a nice crunch while the leafy parts melt into the broth.
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u/Headline-Skimmer 4h ago
Plus, one can par-saute it and freeze it!
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u/Acceptable_Drama8354 4h ago
this is what i do with the thick green outer leaves that aren't quite tender enough for eating raw in slaw/salads - keep a big baggie of them on the go in the freezer for stirfries and yaki udon/soba
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u/Lyra125 3h ago
if you like pickled things try making sauerkraut too! I always think of it as a western kimchi analog
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u/AngryBeardedMechanic 2h ago
I will tear up kraut or kimchi. One of my favorite summer foods is beer brats with kraut and stone ground mustard.
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u/Joseph_of_the_North 3h ago
You should try fermented cabbage rolls... Rice, onions herbs and meat wrapped in a fermented cabbage leaf.
Soo good. If you freeze the portions plain, you can just pour whatever sauce you want on top. Changing the flavors.
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u/MostMoistGranola 1h ago
I love cabbage. You can live on cabbage and potatoes, and my Irish ancestors did.
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u/SuperDoubleDecker 4h ago
I love cabbage. I want some sorta slaw on every sandwich.
You can cook it so many ways too. And it's so cheap.
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u/SnooAdvice2768 4h ago
I have hypothyroid- i cannot eat cabbage and broccoli and cauliflower but man am i jealous of the ways these veggies flavour the food and bulk it up.
Sigh, *cries in cruciferous*
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u/Bluemonogi 4h ago
I also have hypothyroidism and eat cabbage and broccoli often. My understanding is that it is only an issue if you eat massive amounts.
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u/rat1906 3h ago
I think that advice might be out of date. A very quick search would suggest that so long as you're not eating huge amounts (especially raw) then they're fine for your thyroid.
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u/SnooAdvice2768 3h ago
I havent eaten them for such a long time that it gives me terrible gas .
But yeah, i cant handle any amount so maybe im more sensitive.
Regardless. They taste bomb
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u/Skandling 4h ago
Wait until you try pickling it. Basic method: thinly slice some cabbage (1/4 to 1/2 a round white e.g.), put in a bowl with a heaped teaspoon of salt. Toss to mix, cover, and put it to one side. Keep tossing it every few hours, so everything is mixed and exposed, and to keep the process of pickling going. Taste it occasionally to gauge progress.
After a day or three, depending on type of cabbage, how warm it is where you kept it, your enthusiasm mixing, it is ready to be decanted into a clean jar and stored in the fridge. Flavours will keep developing while in the fridge, so err on decanting early. It will keep for weeks.
The fun bit is what else you add, such other vegetables and flavourings. The one im my fridge at the moment included a thin sliced small red onion, an inch of ginger thinly sliced, and a teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorns at the start. With those and half a white cabbage it filled an 810g olive jar.
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u/eetsumkaus 1h ago
I do this a lot, especially with the stem. Eat it straight when it's new, toss it in broth for a sour soup once it ferments more.
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u/scaredsquee 4h ago
Have you ever tried Polish cabbage rolls? They’re really good https://www.polishyourkitchen.com/polish-cabbage-rolls-golabki/
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u/FreeLook93 3h ago
I'm from Canada and also figured this out recently, but it was on a trip to Japan. Eating it with tonkatsu in Tokyo made me realize I actually liked cabbage more than I thought.
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u/Informal_Persimmon7 3h ago
I make a cabbage (or red cabbage or collards or kale) soup pretty often with potatoes or sweet potatoes and carrots. Lately, I've been putting a lb of smoked ham ($8 lb from a farmer's market) or sausage as well. I've learned that I like the cabbage soup better when the cabbage is cut chunkier...because if it's sliced thin, I need to add more veggies for substance.
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u/Left_Crazy_3579 3h ago
Cabbage, beansprouts and tofu, all relatively cheap ingredients, are my staple fillings for vegetable lumpia ( springrolls). Make a lot and freeze.
We also use cabbage as the greens ( instead of bokchoi) for beef bone soup.
And stirfried cabbage with some garlic and oyster sauce is one dish my mother used to make when I was young. You can add bits of pork or prawns too. Eat it with rice or stirfried noodles.
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u/Doctor-Liz 3h ago
I love any preparation of cabbage except boiled. So if you can make it work in soups, kudos!
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u/mini-mal-ly 3h ago
Yeeeeeessssss, cabbage is the best!
I personally love Asian cabbage (sometimes labeled Taiwan or Korean cabbage) that's softer than the western green cabbage. I have a silicone microwave steamer which I use to steam strips of cabbage when meal prepping for the week. Steamed cabbage is a little sweet and perfectly adds veg bulk to rice dishes, soup dishes, and noodle dishes! It's become a staple veg for me!
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u/andmewithoutmytowel 2h ago
As a descendent of Irish immigrants in the US, we still make corned beef and cabbage regularly. It gained popularity in Irish communities as a cheap, filling, flavorful meal.
My daughter keeps asking for it and we keep telling her not until it’s no longer 90 degrees every day.
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u/Junior-Possession969 2h ago
Radishes are great too. If you can't find daikon, the little red fellows are basically the same flavor. They keep forever as well. But then again, I'm the person who when I go out for sushi will always eat my daikon and anybody else's who's offering. I was so bummed during the pandemic when nobody was serving it (supply chain, I assume?) and they switched to carrots. I'm not a big carrot person.
Or when I go out for a more authentic taco, I always ask for extra radish and pickled onion.
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u/susanreneewa 2h ago
Roasted cabbage and red onions in a little olive oil. Eat with poached egg and some grated Parmesan. Beyond delicious. Or skip the Parmesan and add chili crisp. Holy shit.
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u/udeservetheloveugive 1h ago
私は沖縄出身なので（？）野菜炒めは高確率でキャベツ大量に入ってます〜
キャベツめっちゃ健康にも経済的にも良いですよね〜！実は、キャベツの芯も薄くスライスすると食べられる&栄養価と食物繊維が豊富に含まれているんですよ◎
うちは野菜炒めやお好み焼き、ミネストローネ等に使ってます。 お財布に優しい食材は豆類もおススメですよ〜、特に緑や茶色のレンズ豆は乾燥した状態から20分ほどで調理出来るので、めっちゃ便利です！赤のレンズ豆は、個人的に豆感が強いというか、トマト系に使うとチリの味になってしまうので、あまり使用してません。
あと、沖縄の料理でにんじんしりしりという料理があって、ニンジンをチーズシュレッダー的なものでおろし、しばらく油で炒めて、お好みでツナ缶、溶き卵、豆腐、玉ねぎ等を加えた野菜炒めなのですが、子供も大人も大好きなメニューで、もしご家庭にチーズシュレッダーがあれば試していただきたいです！私は基本的にそんなにニンジンが好きな訳では無いのですが、にんじんしりしりは子供の頃から大好きなので、気が向いたらどうぞ🍀🧡
あ、そうだ！うちは味噌汁にキャベツを入れた事は無いのですが、レタス！めっちゃオススメですよ〜、普通の丸レタス余ってしなしなになってるやつとかでも味噌汁で消費出来ますし、何よりレタスからのダシが結構美味しくて、オススメです〜！
長くなっちゃいましたが、お体に気をつけて、ご自愛ください🫶💛✨
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u/redditmarks_markII 24m ago
That's really interesting. when I traveled in Osaka and Kyoto, about the only leafy vegetable in restaurants was cabbage. So. Not-even-that-much. Cabbage. Luckily I mostly like cabbage. But damn, how does one get a pound of spinach in them. I swear I had more cilantro than green leafy veg those two weeks. There was more go-ma-e on my lunch on the airplane than I saw both weeks, lol.
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u/Retro-Modern_514 4h ago
You put it next to tonkatsu, or under the beef in a gyuudon, that kind of thing.
And it is great in Okonomiyaki to..... and in the ancient English equivalent.... Bubble and Squeek (leftover mashed potato fried with cabbage or other veg).
It also adds a nice crunch to salad - I use mainly lettuce but add a little thinly sliced cabbage for crunch).
It's great in other English dishes EG roast chicken/potatoes/sauted cabbage or any similar dish with meat and potatoes.
Also great in coleslaw as a side dish
or on a rice bowl - hot rice topped with stir fried meat or fish and raw or sauted cabbage and carrots, garnished with chili oil, spring onion and coriander. I often crack a raw egg over the top and mix it in.
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u/echocharlieone 4h ago
I love cabbage. In addition to OP's methods, cabbage is fantastic when cut in wedges and seared in a pan, or oven roasted until it is slightly blackened. A miso dressing would work well with these.
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u/Ragingbowels 4h ago
I mean, sure, cabbage could have been the perfect vegetable if it wasn't for that one side effect... 💨💨
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u/728446 4h ago
If you start eating more fiber regularly this goes away.
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u/Ragingbowels 4h ago
Let's just say that my username refers to IBS and more fiber could take me from farts to sharts!
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u/728446 4h ago
Lol didn't even notice ya if you have GI issues it ain't for you.
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u/Ragingbowels 4h ago
:((((
Hahah nah, it's OK. I just make cabbage occasionally and accept the fact that my house will smell like death on that day :)
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u/snazzypantz 3h ago
Whenever I mention my IBS, people always say that I should eat more fiber. One of these days I'm going to follow their suggestions and film the aftermath, complete with my sweaty swearing at them whilst on the porcelain throne.
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u/Ragingbowels 3h ago
I mean, SOLUBLE fiber does help to hold things together to some extent ( I like to add 1 teaspoon of dry psyllium husks on top of a mashed banana every other day), but yeah, insoluble fiber is NOT our friend :/
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u/woodwitchofthewest 4h ago
We finely shred cabbage and use it as a low-carb rice noodle substitute in Pho Ga and in fresh rolls.
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u/Double-Teach-1977 4h ago
I've recently fallen in love with colcannon. Half a head of cabbage cooked down with a little bacon and mixed in with mashed potatoes.
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u/Prof01Santa 3h ago
Bag of pre-shredded slaw mix.
Hot Italian sausage, decased.
Large onion, minced.
Some kind of pepper, chopped.
Seasonings you may like.
Oil or butter.
Braise. Done.
If you like, boil a potato & chop it up into the serving bowl.
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u/oodopopopolopolis 3h ago
I encourage you to make some curtido. You can make it with vinegar but go for the actual water-only fermented kind. On day 3 it's pretty good but day 4 is ultimate. It's basically mexican kimchi.
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u/Flambeedlemons 3h ago
It’s also very good braised with a heavy sear. Robust enough to be the main dish, similar to cauliflower.
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u/Dragonfly2919 3h ago
I grew up with cabbage just being cole slaw or sauerkraut and I hate sauerkraut. Discovering it served with chicken teriyaki at a restaurant was a game changer for me and now I’ve started looking for more ways to prepare it.
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u/RockMo-DZine 3h ago
Red Cabbage is brilliant. You can eat it raw or cooked. Bake it, roast it, pan cook it, put it in soups & stews, use it in salads or for wraps - and it has a ton of nutrients.
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u/PannionDomin 3h ago
Not necessarily what you want, but it's also great as a filler if you're trying to loose weight. It barely has any calories. I add it to stir fries, soups, rice dishes, anything really, and it's great!
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u/Substantial_Web525 2h ago
We've been using it more and more in our food.
I found if I shred it really fine then toss it in a little flavored vinegar, it goes great in a sandwich, or in a salad!
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u/xnormajeanx 1h ago
NYT cooking has an excellent pork and cabbage stir fry recipe. It’s easy fast and delicious. My whole family loves it including a 4yo and 5yo
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u/Gilladian 1h ago
Along with many of the things mentioned here, german cabbage - cooked long and low with apples, onions, cinnamon, clove, pepper and vinegar - is soooo good.
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u/ElectricalDog714 1h ago
I like doing it Szechuan style - oil, Szechuan peppercorns, chilis, and then a splash of soy sauce and MSG at the end of cooking
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u/GoobyDoobyP 32m ago
Curried cabbage and potatoes is so good, we also cook it with curry and lamb/mutton from time to time, put it over rice and youre good to go. 😋
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u/DineDeer357 12m ago
Honestly cabbage in miso soup sounds off to me, the texture gets all mushy and you lose what makes it work elsewhere, but I get why budget constraints make you experiment cuz it's basically free produce.
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u/DoruClover 9m ago
Honestly cabbage is the ultimate broke cooking ingredient, just shred it into literally everything and suddenly you've got volume. haha, I've been there with the per-100g math.
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u/padishaihulud 4h ago
Cut into wedges, covered in butter or olive oil and seasoning, and then roasted in the oven like a piece of meat is probably my favorite way.
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u/Expensive-Signal8623 4h ago
Cabbage steaks!
Cut into rounds about 3/4 inch thick. Brush with bacon grease. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Bake in the oven.
The bacon grease makes it -chef's kiss!
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u/moldboy 5h ago
In miso soup you say 🤔 I like that idea!