Umami-Rich Cabbage Rolls Stuffed With Rice and Pork From 'The Global Pantry Cookbook'

This delicious riff on stuffed cabbage rolls uses fragrant jasmine rice, napa cabbage and a brothy brown sauce enriched by oyster sauce and toasted sesame oil instead of a tomato-based one. A splash of fish sauce in the porky filling boosts the meaty-savory effect. The result is rich beyond compare and ever-so-delicately sweet to match the cabbagey goodness. It’s great with a dollop of chili crisp for extra crunchy umami and heat.

[Excerpted from The Global Pantry Cookbook: Transform Your Everyday Cooking With Tahini, Gochujang, Miso, and Other Irresistible Ingredients by Ann Taylor Pittman and Scott Mowbray. Workman Publishing © 2023.]

November 11, 2023

Ingredients

1 large head napa cabbage or green cabbage
1 pound ground pork
1 cup cooked jasmine rice
2/3 cup thinly sliced scallions
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large carrot, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups unsalted beef stock
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Korean toasted sesame oil
Chili crisp (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 ̊ F with the rack placed in the center. Coat a 13 × 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Prepare the napa cabbage: remove 18 large leaves from the head of cabbage.Trim off 2–3 inches from the bottom of each leaf, where the vein is the thickest. Pile the leaves on a microwave-safe plate. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Carefully uncover the plate and cool the cabbage slightly.

3. Place the pork in a large bowl. Add rice, scallions, fish sauce, pepper, salt, carrot and garlic; mix well with your hands. Divide the pork mixture into 8 equal balls.

4. To stuff the leaves: arrange 2 leaves napa cabbage on a work surface,with the narrower rib ends overlapping by an inch or two. Spoon one ball of filling into the center of the cabbage leaves. Fold the left leaf over the filling and roll over to the right side to enclose the filling in a cylinder. Arrange the filled leaves, seam-side down, in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with the remaining cabbage leaves and filling to form 8 cabbage rolls (you should have a couple of extra leaves in case some tear).

5. Whisk together stock, oyster sauce and sesame oil in a medium bowl; pour over the cabbage rolls. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake until the filling is thoroughly heated, flavors are married and the pork is cooked through, 1 hour. Uncover the dish and bake until the liquid is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes; the sauce will be more like broth than gravy. Serve with chili crisp on the side, if desired.

Active time: 25 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 40 minutes SERVES 4