This Northern Chinese Sour Cabbage Stew with pork belly and glass noodles, or suāncài dùn fěntiáo (酸菜炖粉条) has become a new favorite in our house. If you’re a fan of pickled flavors, you have to try this recipe!
A Northern Chinese Cold Weather Classic
The mere mention of sour cabbage stew with glass noodles (酸菜炖粉条, suāncài dùn fěntiáo) would make any northerner start salivating. Many northerners pickle their own cabbage to make this dish, as well as other items like sour cabbage pork dumplings!
In Northern China, this traditional noodle stew is often served in the cold weather months, but enthusiasm for it goes beyond that. It’s a dish that shows up at any happy family occasion.
Imagine a big family feasting on a large pot of bubbling soup, with tangy sour cabbage, chewy cellophane noodles, and rich pork belly. Snow drifts outside the windows as hot steam rises above the hot broth. Multiple pairs of chopsticks fight for noodles, followed by the sounds of loud slurping. Everyone is too busy to talk, instead exchanging satisfied smiles between bites.
That’s the scene I imagine whenever I have a pot of this stew bubbling on the stove.
The Key Ingredient: Sour Cabbage
If you couldn’t already tell from the name, this Chinese sour cabbage stew is supposed to be sour! It should have a similar level of tangy sourness as a hot and sour soup.
That’s why the sour cabbage is so integral to this tasty one pot meal. Since it can be difficult to find, we have three possible options:
- Sour Pickled Napa Cabbage: The cabbage you see in this post, and the most ideal option, is pickled napa cabbage. You can find it at well-stocked chinese grocery stores in vacuum sealed packages.
- Sour Pickled Mustard: These pickled greens are more widely available. Their texture is less “leafy” than the napa cabbage, which makes it less ideal. Be sure you’re purchasing the sour pickled mustard greens!
- Sauerkraut: If the previous two options aren’t available, I’d use sauerkraut. While it isn’t the ideal, it has a similar taste to the sour napa, and it IS made from cabbage!
All three of these options are very sour, which is key for this dish. You can also add a little white vinegar to the final dish if it’s not sour enough for your taste buds.
The Proper Type of Noodles
As for the glass noodles, the ideal type to buy is sweet potato starch noodles, cut into a spaghetti-like thickness. They hold their shape well, are less absorbent (so they don’t dry up your soup broth), and have more body than the thinner mung bean vermicelli.
That said, you can use any cellophane noodle you like for this. Whatever noodle you choose, note that they all have slightly different preparation instructions. Many require pre-soaking before cooking.
Please take a look at the cooking instructions on the package, and prepare accordingly.
A Note on Serving
This dish is meant to be served bubbling hot. I suggest using a cast iron dutch oven or clay pot, because they maintain their heat longer after leaving the stove.
If you have a separate induction, electric coil, or butane burner, even better! Serve this stew in a pot over low heat so it stays at a low simmer. You can also serve it in an electric hot pot or shabu shabu pot, if you have one of those.
This will create that complete, authentic dining experience that mimics how northerners like to enjoy it. Just be careful around the electrical cords and simmering broth!
Be sure to try the dipping sauce—the raw garlic adds a delightful zip and signature flavor. Another interesting fact is that this noodle stew is almost always served with rice. Noodle on rice? You bet!
Northern Chinese Sour Cabbage Stew: Recipe Instructions
Start by prepping the pork. In a medium thick-bottomed pot, add the water, whole pork belly (or ribs), Shaoxing wine, ginger, scallions, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium/low, and simmer for 15 minutes.
If using pork belly, remove it from the pot to let it cool, and save the stock.
If substituting pork ribs, don’t remove them from the stock. Just turn off the heat and let them continue “cooking” in the hot broth while you prepare the rest of the dish.
Make the dipping sauce by combining the minced garlic, light soy sauce, sugar, and chili oil (if using) in a small bowl. Set aside.
Slice the sour cabbage about ¼” (0.6 cm) thick.
Transfer to a large metal bowl, and fill with fresh water.
Agitate the vegetables in the water with your hands a bit, drain, and thoroughly squeeze out any remaining water from the cabbage.
This quick rinse will soften the saltiness and sourness of the cabbage. Set aside.
Once the pork belly is warm to the touch (not hot), slice it into 1/4″ (0.6 cm) slices. Set aside.
Here’s what your prepared ginger and scallions should look like:
In a thick-bottomed, relatively shallow pot (a clay pot, stone pot, or cast iron dutch oven is ideal for retaining heat while eating), heat the vegetable oil, and add the ginger and julienned scallion whites.
Add the sour cabbage.
Stir-fry for 5-7 minutes, until any liquid has evaporated.
Strain the liquid used to boil the pork, and add to the pot…
Stir in the oyster sauce and chicken stock (optional if you like a more broth-like consistency).
Also add the sliced pork belly (or ribs). I fanned out the pork belly evenly in a circular pattern like this:
Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes over medium low heat.
Add the glass noodles, stir, and cover again. Note that some glass noodles require pre-soaking before cooking. I soaked these noodles to soften them prior to cooking. Be sure to check the package instructions before you start.
Cook for 2-3 more minutes, or according to the package instructions.
Finally, stir in the white pepper and salt to taste. Top with the chopped green parts of the scallions, and serve immediately with the dipping sauce for the pork and the steamed rice!
Be sure to try that dipping sauce. It’s crazy good!
Northern Chinese Sour Cabbage Stew with Glass Noodles
Ingredients
To prepare the pork belly:
- 4 cups water
- 1 pound pork belly (or double the amount of meaty pork ribs, i.e. 2 lbs/900g)
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 4 slices ginger
- 2 scallions
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 star anise
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the dipping sauce
- 3 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- chili oil (optional, to taste)
For the rest of the dish:
- 1 pound Chinese sour cabbage (can substitute sour mustard or sauerkraut)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 slices ginger (julienned)
- 2 scallions (white part julienned, green parts chopped)
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 cup chicken stock (optional)
- 3 ounces dried sweet potato starch noodles (or other dried glass noodles, soaked/prepared according to package instructions)
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Start by prepping the pork. In a medium thick-bottomed pot, add the water, whole pork belly (or ribs), Shaoxing wine, ginger, scallions, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium/low, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- If using pork belly, remove it from the pot to let it cool, and save the stock. If substituting pork ribs, don’t remove them from the stock. Just turn off the heat and let them continue “cooking” in the hot broth while you prepare the rest of the dish.
- Make the dipping sauce by combining the minced garlic, light soy sauce, sugar, and chili oil (if using) in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Slice the sour cabbage about ¼” (0.6 cm) thick, transfer to a large metal bowl, and fill with fresh water. Agitate the vegetables in the water with your hands a bit, drain, and thoroughly squeeze out any remaining water from the cabbage. This quick rinse will soften the saltiness and sourness of the cabbage. Set aside.
- Once the pork belly is warm to the touch (not hot), slice it into 1/4" (0.6 cm) slices. Set aside.
- In a thick-bottomed, relatively shallow pot (a clay pot, stone pot, or cast iron dutch oven is ideal for retaining heat while eating), heat the vegetable oil, and add the ginger, julienned scallion whites, and the sour cabbage. Stir-fry for 5-7 minutes, until any liquid has evaporated.
- Strain the liquid used to boil the pork into the pot. Stir in the oyster sauce and chicken stock (optional if you like a more broth-like consistency), and then add the sliced pork belly (or ribs). Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes over medium low heat.
- Add the glass noodles, stir, and cover again. Cook for 2-3 more minutes, or according to the package instructions.
- Finally, stir in the white pepper and salt to taste. Top with the chopped green parts of the scallions, and serve immediately with the dipping sauce for the pork and the steamed rice.
This looks beautiful! My family and I recently discovered a Northern Chinese restaurant that specializes in dumplings. I’ve been addicted to the cabbage and pork dumplings and the stew for months now. I’m a German living in the US, and something about these dishes just feels like home to me (not a huge surprise – Germans looove pork and pickled cabbage!). Reading this recipe, I think I feel brave enough to try cooking it myself. Thanks!
You should definitely go for it, it’s not that hard. I also have a recipe for sour cabbage with pork dumplings which I will post soon :-)
Judy, just tried this today and it is delicious! Are there other dishes that use the pickled cabbage? I might be addicted to this ingredient!
Hi Kaydee, you can use it in sour cabbage with chicken. You can also use it as dumpling filling. Please use this chicken wonton filling as a guideline with a couple modifications: change chicken to pork and omit the salt, since sour cabbage is salty. I know you will like these two :-)
Thank you!
Just like my mom’s homemade recipe. The broth became really miky and delicious from the pork belly. This isn’t something I’d normally crave, but will come back to this recipe for sure in the future!
That’s so nice, Lisa, and thank you so much for trying our recipes :-)
So good! Thanks for the recipe!
You are very welcome, Lisa.
Do you think you can make it with beef or some other meat? My family is not big on pork, but this looks delicious.
Hi Kir, you can use beef short ribs/oxtails, but need to increase the cooking time until beef is tender. Please use our oxtail soup as a guide; then cook the sour cabbage with aromatics as directed. Finally, combine the two along with noodles.
Great, thanks!
You are welcome, Karen.
Judy, are all the different pickled Chinese vegetables made by salt fermentation (like sauerkraut is) or pickled with vinegar? I make my own red cabbage sauerkraut and a number of other fermented vegetable pickles so I’d love to wait till Bill posts the recipe for making sour Napa cabbage. Or is it made the same way as regular sauerkraut? If it is, I could go ahead and make it this week myself.
One more question, please. I can buy Asian yam glass noodles locally. Is that the type of glass noodles you mean by sweet potato since yams are a different plant than North American sweet potatoes?
Hi Jude, Bill’s 2 posts on sour mustard greens (pickled with vinegar) are coming out this coming week. Both are Hakka recipes from his grandma, who is over 100 years old! :-) As for the noodle, you are right, yams noodle are sweet potato noodles :-) They do come in all shapes and sizes.
Japan also has pickled sour Napa cabbage, hakusai-zuke/白菜漬け and pickled mustard type leaves Takana-zuke/高菜漬け which could be used as well I think. There are some that are called furu-zuke/古漬け which means they have been pickled for a longer time. I am definitely going to make this. It sounds wonderful.
Are there other types of dipping sauces??
Hi Pamela, you can try our dumpling sauce: . Also, thank you very much for your input.
Looks good! I hope to make it…have all except the wine…TY for sharing your recipes!
You are very welcome, Caroline. Hope you give this recipe a try.
Hi Judy, enjoyed the recipe. Do you have a favorite recipe for preparing sour napa cabbage at home? Also, I’m fascinated by the cooking pot you are using on what looks to be a portable induction burner. What is the pot made out of and how does it compare to metal or cast iron? Thank you.
Hi David, Bill just finished his grandma’s sour cabbage recipe and it’s coming out very soon. BTW, the burner I used is an induction. As for the pot, even though is looks and feels like a clay or stone pot, its bottom has a layer of induction-friendly metal. :-)