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Napa cabbage (or Peking cabbage) is a vegetable crop of Chinese origin. It has juicy yellow leaves that form a small head. Cooks most often use this vegetable in the preparation of salads, and for making soups.
You can also use Napa cabbage in pickled and dried form, and as a side dish in fried or boiled form. This product is also excellent for cooking Korean Kimchi. However, you must be able to choose and cook Napa cabbage correctly so that your dishes turn out delicious.
How to choose
To make a dish with Napa cabbage delicious, you must choose the right vegetable. To do this, follow the advice from professional chefs:
- Do not take too dense or loose cabbage. It is also better to choose mediumāsized vegetables ā a large one may be overripe, and a small one is not juicy.
- Inspect the cabbage leaves. In good Napa cabbage, they have a rich color and elasticity. The leaves should not be sluggish, wet and rotten ā this indicates that the vegetable is already spoiling.
- Napa cabbage has almost no flavor. If you feel a pronounced smell, most likely, the vegetable has been processed or saturated with chemicals.
To avoid problems with the choice of Napa cabbage, buy a vegetable from trusted sellers or in vegetable markets.
Napa cabbage: pros and cons
Napa cabbage is endowed with beneficial properties due to its vitamins, dietary fibers, and minerals. The white part of cabbage leaves is rich in a large amount of indigestible dietary fiber. These coarse substances cleanse the intestinal walls of mucus and unnecessary waste. The product contains a large amount of vitamins C, A, and B. The special taste of Napa cabbage is given by proteins, amino acids, antioxidants, macro- and microelements. Only 100 grams of Peking cabbage contains 16 kcal, so it is an excellent product for maintaining a diet. This composition allows the vegetable to have a number of beneficial properties on the human body. Among them:
- release of blood vessels from cholesterol
- normalization of blood pressure
- increased metabolism
- improvement of intestinal motility
- blood purification
- protection from free radicals
Along with the unique beneficial properties of Napa cabbage, there are some contraindications. Experts forbid people with problems in the gastrointestinal tract to eat this vegetable. Also, you should not eat the product for diarrhea, flatulence and colic.
Can you cook napa cabbage like regular cabbage?Ā
According to professional chefs, the technology of preparing Napa cabbage does not differ much from ordinary cabbage. However, it is softer and juicier in texture.
For this reason, the product tastes better fresh, in salads or simply with mayonnaise and garlic. During heat treatment, keep in mind that the cooking time of Napa cabbage is less.
There is another significant difference – you cannot add ordinary cabbage to the Korean Kimchi dish because of the strong rigidity.
Does napa cabbage have to be cooked?
Napa cabbage is soft and juicy. This makes the product suitable for consumption in its raw form. It also retains useful properties even after freezing. Heat treatment is not required, especially for salads.
However, if you want to achieve greater softness, then cooking or stewing will not be harmful. Professional chefs use Napa cabbage in different types, depending on the dish recipe.Ā
How do you eat Napa cabbage?
Peking cabbage contains a lot of nutrients, and most of it comes from a white base. It is in the white fleshy part of the leaf that the highest concentration of vitamins and amino acids is found.
Many get rid of dense parts of the leaves by pruning the base. However, experts do not advise doing this if you want to eat the product raw. Peking cabbage is not only possible, you can add such a product to salads, and you can stew the leaves with mushrooms or with pieces of meat.
Do I need to wash napa cabbage?Ā
You can easily combine Napa cabbage with many products. The popularity of the product is associated with a high content of beneficial substances (vitamins, mineral salts, amino acids), which are kept fresh for a long time and even with proper heat treatment.
To preserve all the useful elements, you should not thoroughly wash Napa cabbage. Simply rinse the vegetable under a stream of cold running water and do not wipe with paper towels. If there is a lot of sand and dirt on the cabbage, just remove all the upper leaves.
How long does Napa cabbage last in the fridge?
Napa cabbage is a plant that is demanding not only to the growing conditions, but also to the organization of storage. The short period of lying down and the delicate structure of the vegetable require a serious approach to choosing a way to preserve cabbage, taking into account all the features of this culture.
The easiest way is freezing. However, you can also store Napa cabbage of early varieties in the refrigerator for about 10-14 days, and late varieties for about a month. The main condition is not to wash Napa cabbage before placing it in the refrigerator.
How do you cut Napa cabbage for shabu shabu?
Shabu Shabu is the Japanese version of hogo. This dish consists of thinly sliced meat and stewed vegetables. Many cooks add Napa cabbage there. However, you must cut this vegetable correctly so that the dish turns out delicious. The cutting technology is simple:
- Rinse the cabbage thoroughly under running water.
- Remove all damaged leaves from fresh peeled cabbage.
- Cut the cabbage in half.
- Cut each half into halves again, creating identical quarters.
- Cut two quarters of cabbage across into 5 cm pieces.
How to prepare napa cabbage for stir fry
Napa stir fried cabbage is a delicacy in many countries. To prepare this vegetable for cooking, you must properly rinse and slice it properly. You should cut the Napa cabbage lengthwise and then thinly slice across the leaf. The width of the “straw” should be about 2-3 m.
This thickness is necessary so that the vegetable does not burn in the roasting pan. Next, just fry the cabbage over medium heat for 7-10 minutes, stirring constantly. This method of preparation will allow you not only to get a delicious product, but also to cook it quickly.
How to cook napa cabbage in chinese style
If you want to cook something unusual from Napa cabbage, then the Chinese Kimchi dish will be the best option. To repeat the classic recipe, prepare the necessary ingredients:
- Napa cabbage – 1.5 kg
- hot fresh pepper – 2-3 pods
- sweet pepper – 150 g
- salt – 500 g
- ground coriander – 1 tablespoon
- ground ginger – 1 tablespoon
- garlic (head) – 1 pc.
- ground hot pepper – to taste
- soy sauce – to taste
Step-by-step technology of preparation:
- Cut the Napa cabbage in half. Cut each half at the base (where the thickest part of the leaves is) by about 1/3, without cutting to the end.
- Rinse the cabbage under a stream of cold water.
- Sprinkle each cabbage leaf with salt, put it in a container and leave for a few hours.
- When the cabbage is salted, rinse it again under cold water.
- Mix garlic, ginger, red pepper, and coriander.
- Pass the hot pepper through a meat grinder and add to the spices.
- Add water to the mixture and mix well.
- Thoroughly lubricate each cabbage leaf and leave to marinate for a couple of hours.
You can serve such a dish as an appetizer or an addition to a side dish.
How to prepare napa cabbage for salad
Professional chefs claim that the proper slicing of vegetables greatly affects the taste of the salad. Napa cabbage as an ingredient is no exception. Coarse slicing is more suitable for salad. Use a sharp knife with a long blade of medium width. The technology is simple:
- Separate the leaves from the head, discard the top ones, and rinse the rest well.
- Pour cold water into a bowl and put the Peking cabbage leaves there for a few minutes to preserve their shape and juiciness.
- Take the leaves out of the water, shake them off and dry them with paper towels.
- Using a knife, cut the leaves into large pieces.Ā
How to prepare napa cabbage for soup
The technology of slicing Napa cabbage for soup differs from the standard one. Here, large pieces will spoil the taste of the dish, so you need to choose a shredder.
To do this, you can use a knife or a regular grater. You can also pre-soak the vegetable to soften the texture. This will improve the taste of the future soup. In the case of slicing with a knife, try to cut the cabbage into small strips.
If you have chosen a grater, then it is best to use an average nozzle.
How to cut napa cabbage
There are several basic ways of slicing Napa cabbage. Each of them is suitable for a certain type of dish. Among them:
- For a salad with vegetable or sesame oil, you need to cut the cabbage coarsely. Vegetables will release juice very quickly and keep their freshness longer.
- In a salad with mayonnaise dressing, it is better to cut Napa cabbage finely. You need to fill the snack before serving, otherwise the vegetable will lose its taste.
- Basically, cooks use only the soft part of Napa cabbage in cooking. You can chop the leaf part with a sharp knife and add it to your favorite salad. From the solid part, you can make an independent dish. You need to cut the cabbage into strips, marinate in vinegar and sugar for 30 minutes.Ā
How to cook napa cabbage in oven
Another common way of cooking Napa cabbage is baking in the oven. For this recipe, prepare the necessary ingredients:
- Napa cabbage – 500 g
- chicken fillet – 250 g
- tomato – 130 g (1 pc.)
- onion – 50 g (0.5 pcs.)
- carrot – 50 g (1 medium-sized)
- butter – 15 g
- sunflower oil – 15 ml (1 tablespoon)
- bay leaf – 2 pcs.
- salt – 2 teaspoons
- ground black pepper – 0.25 teaspoons
Step-by-step cooking technology:
- Preheat the oven to high heat.
- Cut the Chinese cabbage lengthwise into 2 parts and cut into thin strips.
- Peel the onion and cut into small cubes.
- Grate the peeled carrots on a coarse grater.
- Wash the tomato and cut into medium pieces, cutting out the place of attachment of the peduncle.
- Wash the chicken fillet, dry it with a paper towel and cut into small cubes.
- Put all the prepared products in the baking bag: chicken fillet, Peking cabbage, onions, carrots and tomatoes.
- Add the bay leaf, a piece of butter and pour in 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil.
- Mix the contents of the baking bags well. Place in a baking tray.
- Bake chicken fillet with Peking cabbage for 35-40 minutes (focus on the features of your oven).
Storage rules
If you want to preserve cabbage for a longer time, give preference to a vegetable with whole leaves, not damaged by slugs and insects. Before sending for long-term storage, carefully inspect the product. There are several ways to store:
- In the refrigerator. The optimal storage mode in this case is a temperature of +2…+3 Ā°C. Wrap the vegetables tightly with cling film to avoid chapping and wilting of the leaves. The bottom drawers are best suited, as well as special plastic boxes with lids. So you can store Napa cabbage for up to 1 month.
- In the freezer. Before that, you should thoroughly rinse the cabbage and put it in sealed bags or containers. There, the shelf life of the product increases to 3-4 months.
Main tips
Professional chefs have highlighted a number of tips that will help you cook Napa cabbage quickly and without any problems. Among them:
- Use various marinades to cook cabbage in an East Asian style. Olive oil, rice vinegar, canola oil, and apple cider vinegar are suitable for this.
- A good flavor enhancer for Napa cabbage recipes will be various additives, such as toasted sesame or flax seeds. They are full of saturated fat, which improves the taste of the dish.
- To soften the tough Napa cabbage, leave it in cold water for several hours. So all coarse fibers can dissolve.
Closing
Napa cabbage is a delicious and healthy vegetable, especially popular in Chinese cuisine. Its juicy leaves are ideal for vegetable salads and main dishes. Also, this product is famous for valuable nutritional composition, soft structure and juiciness.
Napa cabbage goes well with meat, fish, and vegetables. You can cook this vegetable in different ways, and also eat it raw. The main thing is to choose the right way of slicing and pre-marinating.
Don’t be afraid to experiment and surprise your friends or family members with the taste of unique Napa cabbage. This vegetable will improve the taste of any dish!