ramyaramesh3007These easy savoury & low card pan-fried cabbage rolls are stuffed with a vegetable & tofu filling, doused in a spicy asian-style sauce. Delectable!
These viral cabbage rolls have taken over my feed for a while now and they are a delicious vegan side dish or snack. They are basically a full veggie version of dumplings and are so delectable, hearty and filling. Cabbage rolls, also go by various names like “golabki” in Polish, “holubtsi” in Ukrainian, “sarma” in Turkish, and “lahanodolmades” in Greek and they have a pretty diverse history and meaning in multiple cultures.
The concept of wrapping meat in leaves dates back centuries and they are always so so delicious! I have not had the pleasure to try other versions yet but I hope to some day.
We will be making Chinese cabbage rolls, often referred to as “bai cai juan” (白菜卷) in Mandarin. We stuff vegetables, mushroom & tofu with steamed napa cabbage leaves and douse it an additional spicy sauce for extra flavour!
Ingredients You Need
- napa or chinese cabbage – these are the longest cabbage you can find and are easiest to roll.
- filling – carrots, shitake mushrooms, spring onions, brown rice (or leftover rice)
- protein – extra firm tofu
- seasoning – light and dark soy sauces, 5-spice
- sauce – chili oil, vegan oyster sauce, mushroom seasoning, soy sauce, corn starch
- garnish – toasted sesame seeds & spring onions
Allium free substitutions: Ensure the seasonings do not contain alliums. You can omit the spring onions for the garnish.
Gluten free substitutions: Simply swap out the soy sauces for a gluten free version like tamari or coconut aminos. There are also gluten free soy sauces you can use. Ensure vegan oyster sauce is gluten free.
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
Cabbage Rolls
- 1 head napa cabbage or chinese cabbage
- water to steam or boil
Filling
- 1 small carrot
- 6 shitake mushrooms
- 2 stalks spring onions
- 200 g extra firm tofu
- 200 g brown rice
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp 5-spice
Sauce
- 1-2 tsp chili oil
- 1 tsp vegan oyster sauce
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp mushroom seasoning
- 1 tsp corn starch +1/4 cup water
Instructions
- In a wok or skillet, heat sesame oil over medium heat.
- Add carrots, mushrooms, crumbled tofu and spring onions. Saute until vegetables are tender.
- Add in brown rice. Add soy sauce, 5-spice and salt (if needed) to the filling. Mix well.
- Separate the Napa cabbage leaves and blanch them in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.
- Cut the end of the cabbage leaf. Place a spoonful of the filling in the centre of the leaf.
- Fold the sides of the leaf over the filling, then roll it up from the bottom, creating a tight bundle.
- Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.
- Panfry the cabbage rolls in some olive oil until lightly brown. Arrange the cabbage rolls on a serving platter.
- Mix the ingredients needed for the sauce over the pan and stir until it thickens.
- Pour it over the cabbage rolls, you can have this on its own or serve it with rice. Enjoy!