Cabbage Stir Fry Recipe - Swasthi's Recipes (2024)

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Make quick and delicious Cabbage Stir Fry with my easy recipe. This Chinese style Stir Fried Cabbage is a perfect side dish & goes well with just anything. Do you like cabbage? No! I mean do you love cabbage like we do? This vegan cabbage stir fry is our absolute favorite! In this post I show you how to make tasty cabbage stir fry that’s perfectly cooked yet crunchy with mild sweet, hot & umami tones. No more soggy & mushy cabbage!

Cabbage Stir Fry Recipe - Swasthi's Recipes (1)

About Cabbage Stir Fry

This Asian Cabbage Stir Fry is cooked on high heat with a touch of oil and simple flavoring ingredients like garlic and soya sauce. A couple of other veggies like carrot and bell peppers are used as its trusty sidekicks. The dish is vegan but you can easily include eggs or meat for added nutrition.

For a simplest meal serve it over plain rice or with roti. Fill your sandwiches, wraps and rolls with this healthy and flavorsome goodness. Or Transform this vegan cabbage stir fry to a nutritious meal by adding some boiled noodles or al dente cooked rice.

In no time you have a bowl of healthy cabbage stir fry noodles or fried rice ready. Check out my pro tips section to know more about that.

Contents hide

1 About Cabbage Stir Fry

2 How to Make Cabbage Stir Fry (Stepwise Photos)

3 Pro Tips

4 Recipe Card

My family loves any veggie that are stir fried like this Zucchini Stir Fry, Broccoli Stir Fry & this veggie Tofu Stir Fry.

This stir fried cabbage also goes into my vegetarian Club Sandwich, Chicken Spring rolls and even to make the roti rolls. Stir fry dishes are common in the Asian homes for an everyday meal. They are simpler to make, won’t need a lot of ingredients and always easy to please your hungry family.

Making this dish is easy but the preparation takes some time as you need to shred the cabbage and other veggies. To save the prep time you may use the pre-shredded veggies from the store. To double or triple the recipe use a large wok (pan) & a stove with a large burner.

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More Cabbage recipes
Steamed cabbage
Cabbage curry
Easy cabbage fried rice
Cabbage kootu

How to Make Cabbage Stir Fry (Stepwise Photos)

1. To a small bowl, add the Soya sauce, Hoisin sauce (or your favorite sauce), Vinegar & roasted sesame oil (optional). Keep this aside. Wash and drain the veggies thoroughly. Pat dry with a kitchen towel. Julienne or Shred them and set aside. Make sure they are drained well because we don’t want mushy veggies.

2. Heat any cooking oil in a pan on a high flame. Fry garlic and green chilies for 30 seconds, until slightly aromatic. We don’t want to brown the garlic. You can skip chilies if you don’t prefer the heat. But this dish tastes bland with out enough heat, so add a good amount of crushed pepper later, before you finish the dish.

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3. Add all the veggies now.

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4. Begin to stir fry on the highest flame only for 2 to 3 mins. Keep tossing well or stir to prevent burning. Note that you have to constantly stir the veggies as they can burn easily.

5. Add crushed black pepper.

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6. Pour Soya sauce, Hoisin sauce (or your favorite sauce), Vinegar (optional) and sesame oil across the edges of the pan. Make sure most of the sauce hits the pan and does not stay on the veggies. The sauce sizzles and imparts the flavor to the veggies. Keep stirring and fry. When the cabbage is partially cooked yet crunchy remove the from the stove. Cool it on a wired rack and do not cover.

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Transfer to a serving bowl upon cooling.

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Pro Tips

  • To include eggs, add little salt to a bowl and break 2 to 3 eggs into it. Beat until fluffy. When the veggies are half cooked, slide them aside in the wok, add a teaspoon of oil and pour the eggs. Cook them on a medium heat until set. Stir fry the veggies and eggs for another minute and pour the sauces.
  • To include chicken, cook it separately in a pot. Shred it and add it to the wok after the veggies are partially stir fried. Pour the sauce over the chicken and stir fry for an extra minute. You may check this video to see how I do – Chicken spring rolls

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Recipe Card

Cabbage Stir Fry Recipe - Swasthi's Recipes (15)

Cabbage Stir Fry Recipe

Simple cabbage stir fry is so delicious, healthy & super quick to make. Enjoy it as a side in a meal. It goes great in sandwiches, spring rolls, wraps, roti, tortillas or even with just plain rice.

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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time10 minutes minutes

Cook Time10 minutes minutes

Total Time20 minutes minutes

Servings3

AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

  • 3 cups cabbage julienne or shredded
  • 1 cup carrots julienne or shredded
  • 1 cup bell peppers julienne
  • 1 to 2 green chilies slit (skip if making for kids)
  • 2 garlic cloves chopped finely
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper crushed (or white pepper for less heat)
  • Salt if required (optional)

Stir Fry Sauce

  • ½ tablespoon soya sauce (organic or naturally brewed, more if preferred)
  • ½ tablespoon Hoisin sauce (or oyster sauce or your favorite sauce, optional)
  • ½ teaspoon vinegar (like rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
  • 1 teaspoon roasted sesame oil

Instructions

Preparation

  • Cut the cabbage to 4 quarters and keep them in warm water (not hot) for 2 mins. Remove them and rinse a few times in a pot filled with cold water.Drain them completely. Even little moisture in the cabbage is going to make it mushy.

  • Wash carrots & bell peppers. Drain well. Pat dry and Julienne or shred all of the veggies.

How to Make Cabbage Stir Fry

  • To a small bowl, add soya sauce, Hoisin sauce, vinegar and sesame oil. Mix and set aside.

  • Heat a large wok with oil on a high heat. Add garlic and slit green chili. Fry for 30 seconds.

  • Add all the veggies and stir fry for 2 to 3 mins until they are half cooked yet crunchy. Do not over cook to retain the crunch. Make sure the heat is set to highest possible setting and keep stirring to avoid burning.

  • Add the black pepper and mix. Pour the sauces all around the edges of the pan, making sure that most of the sauce hits the pan.

  • Toss the veggies or stir fry for a minute to coat the sauce. Remove the pan from the stove when the cabbage is partially cooked yet crunchy.

  • Cool it over a rack so the veggies don't sweat. Transfer to serving bowl when it cools down. You may add more salt and pepper while serving the cabbage stir fry.

Notes

  1. You may skip all of the sauces and just add crushed black pepper and green chili.
  2. If you are a vegetarian look for vegetarian Hoisin or Oyster sauce. You also get the gluten-free versions of these.
  3. Avoid adding plenty of sauces to retain the bright color of the veggies.
  4. Salt is already included in sauce so don’t need to add. You may sprinkle while serving.

Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts

Cabbage Stir Fry Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 11Calories from Fat 9

% Daily Value*

Fat 1g2%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Trans Fat 1g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 1g

Sodium 391mg17%

Potassium 26mg1%

Carbohydrates 2g1%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin A 8882IU178%

Vitamin C 3mg4%

Calcium 5mg1%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Tried this recipe?Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!

© Swasthi’s Recipes

Cabbage Stir Fry Recipe - Swasthi's Recipes (16)

About Swasthi

I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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Cabbage Stir Fry Recipe - Swasthi's Recipes (2024)

FAQs

How to cook and eat Chinese cabbage? ›

Chinese cabbage can be steamed, boiled, quickly stir-fried, or eaten raw. Cooked leaves and stalks add flavor to soups, stews, pasta dishes, and stir-fries. Use succulent central ribs raw: slice or coarsely shred for salads or slaws, or cut into strips for raw-vegetable platters.

Why is Napa cabbage good for stir frying? ›

Napa Cabbage Stir Fry: Easy, Kid Approved, and a Super Food. Napa Cabbage, also known as Chinese cabbage or sui choy in Cantonese, is super easy to prepare, tastes tender, and has an almost sweet, mild flavored that goes well with other foods.

Is Napa cabbage the same as Chinese cabbage? ›

Napa cabbage is a type of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa var. pekinensis) with an oval head of light green leaves. Its common names include Chinese white cabbage, Peking cabbage, or celery cabbage (due to its white stalks). The word “napa” comes from the Japanese word for leaves, but in Japan, it's called hakusai.

Why do you soak cabbage before cooking? ›

Crisp it up: Shredded cabbage stays perky if it's soaked in cold water.

What kind of cabbage do Chinese restaurants use? ›

Napa Cabbage, also known as Chinese cabbage, is common in traditional Chinese dishes and is pale green with tightly packed, crinkly leaves growing in the shape of an oval – when cooked, it becomes juicy and slightly sweet, and mild in flavor. It's commonly used in Chinese hot and sour cabbage.

What is the healthiest way to eat cabbage? ›

Although you get different nutrients if you cook or ferment it, raw red cabbage in particular might give you the best nutritional boost per serving. Slice it very thinly and leave it for about 10 minutes to help bring out the fullest, most complex flavors. Then add it to salads or sandwiches or turn it into coleslaw.

Which is healthier green cabbage or napa cabbage? ›

Napa and regular cabbage are both low-fat, low-calorie and low-carb, but the nutritious profile of napa cabbage offers higher levels of vitamins C, K and folate than green cabbage. It also delivers higher levels of essential minerals.

Which is healthier napa cabbage or cabbage? ›

Both are excellent sources of important vitamins and minerals. Regular cabbage contains more calcium, zinc and potassium than napa, but napa cabbage contains higher levels of vitamins A, B3, iron and copper. Napa is also lower in sodium than regular cabbage.

How do you cut napa cabbage for stir-fry? ›

Dice the cabbage into bite-sized pieces for stir-frys.

Cut the quartered cabbage into wide strips. Turn your knife and cut across the strips to break them down into pieces that are small enough to eat in one bite. The smaller the pieces of cabbage, the less time it will take for them to cook through.

Do you need to wash Chinese cabbage? ›

Separate the leaves and rinse under cold running water or soak it in cold water for 10 minutes, to remove any dirt. Another method is to pluck all the leaves from the steam, clean, and stack them before chopping the stack. Napa cabbage is commonly chopped across the veins into bite-sized pieces or shredded for slaws.

How do you cut Chinese cabbage? ›

Halve the cabbage lengthwise from tip to base, then divide each half lengthwise. Make a “v” cut into the base of each quarter to remove the hard, woody core. If you're making something like a lettuce cup or wrap, just halve the cabbage but don't quarter it. You'll still want to make the “v” cut to remove the stem.

How to cut cabbage for shabu? ›

Start at one end and make thin crosswise cuts, creating strips of cabbage. Continue slicing the stacked leaves until all the cabbage is cut. This method helps to create uniform pieces that will cook evenly in the hot pot.

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