A couple weeks ago my local grocery store had a special produce display for Chinese New Year. It featured items like egg roll wrappers, bean sprouts, bok choy and napa cabbage. This reminded me of a recipe I pinned years ago but never tired: napa cabbage spring rolls.
Knowing my carnivorous husband wouldn’t help me eat them, I waited to make the spring rolls until this weekend, when my mom and sister were scheduled to visit. I had all the ingredients laid out and I was ready to get started when I noticed the one and only review below the recipe. Words like “gross,” “nasty,” “funky” and “the worst” left me wondering if these little appetizers were worth the effort.
The more I studied the ingredients and the process, I came to the conclusion that I probably wouldn’t like the recipe as-is. The main ingredients sounded fine: cabbage, carrot, green onion and rice. But I wasn’t sure the flavors of parsley, sesame oil and lime juice would jive. I also wasn’t keen on leaving the filling raw, so I opted to give the veggies a quick stir-fry. The end result — I’m happy to report — was something I was proud to feed my guests. These spring rolls have a nice crunch, and they will complement any Asian-themed meal. Since I’m not currently on the Daniel Fast, I served them with chicken teriyaki.
I’ll admit this recipe is somewhat involved. You have to blanch the cabbage leaves, let them dry, cook the rice, stir-fry the vegetables and then assemble everything. The good news is, some of these steps can be done ahead of time. If you have leftover rice in the fridge, this is a great way to use it up. Just warm it in the microwave before assembling. You can cut up the vegetables for the filling at least a day in advance. The cabbage leaves can be blanched 1-2 hours before you’re ready to assemble the rolls. In fact, it’s a good idea to do this step early so the leaves have plenty of time to dry.
The amount of rice you add to each spring roll will depend on the size of your cabbage leaf wrappers. First, divide the vegetable mixture evenly between eight leaves. There should be enough for two heaping tablespoons per leaf. I bought a smaller head of cabbage, so there was only room for about one tablespoon of rice per roll.
I can’t speak for the original recipe, but if I were going to review this revised version, I’d use words like “savory,” “tasty” and “yum.”
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt or sea salt
- 8 napa cabbage leaves
- 4 cups ice cubes
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 cups napa cabbage, finely chopped
- 1 cup carrots, shredded or julienned
- 1/2 cup green onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari, plus extra for dipping
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 to 1 cup cooked brown rice
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring 12 cups water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Meanwhile, place the ice in a large bowl with 8 cups cold water.
- Remove the 8 outermost leaves from the cabbage, and trim off 1 inch of the woody stems. Set the remaining head aside.
- Carefully place the trimmed leaves into the boiling water for 1 minute or just until wilted. Transfer leaves to the ice water for 1 minute. (Use tongs and grab by the stems to avoid tearing the leaves.) Place leaves on a kitchen towel to dry.
- Heat oil over medium-high heat. From the remaining head of cabbage, chop enough to measure 2 cups. Stir-fry chopped cabbage, carrot and green onion for 2 minutes. Add garlic, tamari and black pepper and cook for an additional minute.
- Place 2 heaping tablespoons of the vegetable mixture in the center of each blanched cabbage leaf. Add 1-2 tablespoons of rice on top. Fold the stem end over the filling and roll up tightly. Place on a serving dish, seam side down. Serve with soy sauce or tamari.