Napa Cabbage
Napa cabbage is a mild, tender, barrel-shaped Chinese cabbage with crinkled, pale green-to-white leaves, essential to East Asian cooking from kimchi to dumpling fillings to hot pot.
How to buy
Look for heads that feel firm and heavy with tightly packed, crisp leaves and no browning or slimy spots at the base. The outer leaves should look fresh and crisp, not wilted or yellowed.
How to store
Keep whole heads in a perforated bag in the crisper drawer, where they'll keep for 1-2 weeks -- notably longer than most leafy greens. Once cut, wrap tightly and use within about 5 days.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Mild and faintly sweet with much less sulfurous bite than round green cabbage, and a subtle peppery note in the core. Fermentation, as in kimchi, develops a tangy, funky, umami-rich depth over time.
- Texture
- Crisp and watery raw, with tender, almost delicate leaves compared to the dense, tightly packed leaves of round cabbage. It cooks down quickly, releasing water as it softens.
- Aroma
- A mild, faintly sweet, vegetal smell raw; fermented into kimchi, it develops a pungent, garlicky, slightly sour aroma.
How to prepare
- Fermented — Salted and packed with chile and seasonings, then left to ferment into kimchi.
- Stir-fried — Cut into pieces and cooked quickly over high heat until just wilted.
- Used in hot pot — Added to simmering broth, where its leaves cook quickly and absorb the broth's flavor.
- Used as dumpling filling — Finely chopped, salted to remove excess water, and mixed with meat for dumpling fillings.
- Pickled — Briefly cured in vinegar, salt, and sugar for a quick, tangy side dish.
Classic dishes
American
- Napa cabbage slaw — A lighter, crunchier take on coleslaw using shredded napa cabbage instead of green cabbage.
Chinese
- Jiaozi — Chinese dumplings whose filling often combines napa cabbage with ground pork.
- Hot pot — A communal simmering broth where napa cabbage is one of the most common vegetables added.
- Braised napa cabbage with dried shrimp — Napa cabbage slow-cooked with dried shrimp for a savory, umami-rich side dish.
- Stir-fried napa cabbage with garlic — A simple home-style stir-fry letting the cabbage's natural sweetness come through.
- Hot and sour napa cabbage stir-fry — Napa cabbage stir-fried quickly in a tangy, spicy sauce.
- Napa cabbage egg rolls — Shredded napa cabbage mixed into the vegetable filling for crisp fried egg rolls.
- Lion's head meatballs — Large pork meatballs braised and served over a bed of soft, simmered napa cabbage.
Japanese
- Nabemono — Japanese hot pot where napa cabbage is a staple simmering vegetable.
- Napa cabbage and pork gyoza — Pan-fried dumplings filled with a mixture of napa cabbage and ground pork.
- Napa cabbage salad with sesame dressing — Shredded raw cabbage tossed in a nutty, slightly sweet sesame dressing.
Korean
- Baechu kimchi — The quintessential napa cabbage dish, salted and fermented with chile paste, garlic, and ginger.
- Kimchi jjigae — A spicy, tangy stew built on fermented napa cabbage kimchi.
- Kimchi fried rice — Fried rice studded with chopped kimchi for a tangy, spicy kick.
- Mandu — Korean dumplings commonly filled with a mix of napa cabbage, pork, and glass noodles.
Vietnamese
- Dưa chua — A quick Vietnamese pickle of napa or regular cabbage, carrot, and chile in vinegar brine.