If all vegetable dishes were as easy and tasted as good as this Chinese cabbage stir-fry, we’d all be a lot healthier. (Just a quick note before we go on: there is some meat involved in this dish, but feel free to leave it out if you’re vegetarian!)
Among Chinese cabbage recipes, this cabbage stir-fry is savory, tangy, and very quick to prepare. Plus, it’s CHEAP. Cabbage is so inexpensive, filling, and healthy, but people don’t always know how to prepare it in a way that actually tastes, well…good.
Well, the Chinese have found a way! This is one dish that Sarah and I would definitely agree on when we met up for lunches in Beijing. When she moved to China and was working in the Sanlitun area just down the road from our Beijing apartment, we’d have lunch and order this dish almost every time we saw it on the menu.
All you need is very high heat, a couple of dried chilies, and a few splashes of Chinese pantry staples to make all the difference. Just eating this cabbage dish over rice is a satisfying meal in and of itself!
So, in Chinese, the name of this dish can be translated as “hand-shredded cabbage.” Why hand-shred the cabbage? you might ask. I don’t know the real reason, but my guess is that the rough, haphazardly torn pieces of cabbage offer textural variety, and do a great job of soaking up more sauce and flavor. It’s truly one of our favorites, and it’s the perfect way to take that humble, everyday head of cabbage and turn it into something great.
Chinese Cabbage Stir-fry: Recipe Instructions
In a wok over high heat, add the oil. Sear the meat until caramelized. Add the garlic and dried red chilies, turn down the heat to medium, and stir-fry for a minute, taking care not to burn the garlic.
Add the Taiwanese cabbage, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sugar, and water.
Turn up the heat to high, cover the lid and let the cabbage cook for 1-2 minutes.
Uncover the lid, and stir in the Chinese black vinegar, scallions, and salt to taste. The cabbage should be wilted, but still slightly crunchy and caramelized.
Serve your Cabbage Stir-Fry hot!
Chinese Shredded Cabbage Stir-Fry
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 6 oz. pork belly (170g, pork loin, or chicken, thinly sliced)
- 5 cloves garlic (smashed and cut in half)
- 5 dried red chilies (deseeded and roughly chopped)
- 1 1/2 lb. cabbage (680g, hand-shredded into bite sized pieces, washed, and thoroughly dried)
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese black vinegar
- 2 scallions (cut into 2-inch lengths)
Instructions
- In a wok over high heat, add the oil. Sear the meat until caramelized. Add the garlic and chili, turn down the heat to medium, and stir-fry for a minute, taking care not to burn the garlic.
- Add the cabbage, wine, soy sauce, sugar, and water. Turn up the heat to high, cover the lid and let the cabbage cook for 1-2 minutes. Uncover the lid, and stir in the black vinegar, scallions, and salt to taste. The cabbage should be wilted, but still slightly crunchy and caramelized. Serve hot!
nutrition facts
I made it tonight and it was so yummy I ate it before I took a photo sorry. But we loved it
Awesome, Gloria.
This is so amazing!! I made it with bacon the first time and it was good, but when I finally got my hands on some pork belly, it was out of this world! I normally dislike cabbage but this is just too tasty. Thanks so much for a delicious recipe!
You are so welcome, Natalie. I know it’s very tasty.
The best cabbage stir fry ever. Easy and yummy.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Colleen.
Thank you for sharing this menu.i hope there’s more to be shared..
Ok, Carlo, will do :-)
can you use regular cabbage instead of Chinese cabbage? Do you need to alter the cooking since the regular cabbage seems thicker and less tender?
You are right, Marie, regular cabbage leaves are more meaty, so you should increase the cooking time to 3 – 4 minutes.
Ahhh! I am so excited to try this recipe! Hand torn cabbage was one of my fave dishes when I lived in China. So glad I could find a recipe in English!!
Hope you like it, Mary :-)
I know this is going to be good! I am constantly amazed at the similarities between Chinese cooking and Italian cooking. My Nona made a dish very similar to this one. Instead of pork belly she used whatever she had on hand probably because pork belly and jowl was not available in US markets, and instead of using black vinegar, she used red wine vinegar–onions instead of scallions–red pepper flakes–and let’s not forget the garlic and spices–rosemary, bay leaf, S&P and a bit of chicken stock and olive oil. Sometimes she would add some parboiled cut up potatoes to brown. It was a favorite of my Ukrainian dad (probably because of the cabbage LoL), and mom carried on the tradition of making it. I’m thinking it was an Italian peasant dish (cause there was always more cabbage than meat), and one I completely forgot about. Anyway, I know this is going to be yummy, and the pork belly is in the freezer!
Thank you for leaving us a comment, Valerie. Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as your Nona’s! :-)
Have Wok will travel , always took my wok to the Baja in the 70s ,cooked what we caught in the sea of Cortez ,from clams to lobster ,,,would clean with sand and salt water. that was a long tine ago. ordered a wok yesterday after inspirational posts from y’all one with lid combo , Thank you for that oh it was Amazon , per your photos next is a steamer bamboo , Nagi likes you blogs, also, she is so cool , If I were a rich man I would fly everyone to Texas for a 3 day feast ,,”Good Eating”. Joseph
You are very welcome, Joseph. Happy wokking and eating :-)
As “they”say, necessity is the mother of invention. Since I didn’t have everything I made a few substitutions that worked remarkably well. I had a huge Chinese cabbage from a local small farm/CSA that I was able to make this twice with.
1st Time – substituted Mirin for the Shaoxing, used 1 tspn Sambal Olek for the chiles, Black Forest bacon for the pork belly, added a few fresh Trumpet mushrooms. Garlic 1 big clove because my wife cannot take much garlic. Used balsamic vinegar instead of the Black Chinese vinegar. Left out sugar since the bacon had some
2nd Time – substituted Mirin for the Shaoxing, used 1 tspn Sambal Olek for the chiles, Black Forest bacon for the pork belly, cooked some raw cashews. Garlic 1 big clove because my wife cannot take much garlic. Added a few leaves of Holy Basil that was in the garden. Added 1/4 tspn of corn starch to the sauce. Used balsamic vinegar instead of the Black Chinese vinegar Left out sugar since the bacon had some
Both were very good! thanks!!
All sounds really good, Michael! You are an experienced cook!
So basically, you didn’t make this dish at all.
Could I use red chili pepper flakes instead of the whole chili’s? And about how much? I have ordered all the other ingredients and can’t wait to make this!
Yes, you can, Melisa! Feel free to adjust to taste.