Cabbage Rolls with Homemade Sweet Chili Sauce

By Shawna Zusi-Cobb, WCIF

Health Benefits of Cabbage

  • Cabbage is a staple in many dishes and regions – a versatile fall vegetable which resembles lettuce but actually belongs to the Brassica genus of vegetables, along with broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and more.

  • Cabbage is a low-calorie, high-fiber, and nutritious vegetable containing high amounts of vitamins K, C, and B6.

  • Vitamin K is great for your teeth and bones, may support brain health as you age, and helps with blood coagulation.

  • Vitamin C has benefits that range from boosting your immune system to improving cardiovascular health and comes solely from diet (your body does not produce vitamin C).

  • Vitamin B6 and folate, which cabbage also contains, are essential for many important processes in the body, including energy metabolism and the normal functioning of the nervous system.

Large, blanched cabbage leaves make a great food wrapper! You may be familiar with the traditional Eastern European cabbage rolls which consist of a ground meat and rice filling, and a tomato based sauce. Many other cuisines make use of cabbage as a wrapper, with various fillings and flavor profiles. One of my favorites to make is based on a Chinese cabbage dumpling, and works with your favorite dipping sauce – I personally love a sweet chili sauce that is simple to make from scratch, and delicious!

Preparing your Cabbage

Blanching your cabbage is essential – if you try to roll raw leaves, they will break! Leave your cabbage head whole, and bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the cabbage in the boiling water for around 2 minutes. You will notice the leaves begin to soften right away!

Remove cabbage from water and drain in a colander while you prepare the filling.

Cabbage Roll Filling

This filling is customizable, it will work just great with any ground meat, imitation meat, crumbled tofu, or even chopped mushrooms or cauliflower. You can include any chopped veggies you happen to have on hand as well.

1 lb ground or minced pork/beef/chicken
Finely chopped carrots, mushrooms, or other vegetables
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1 stalk scallions, finely chopped
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 pinch sugar
1 egg

Mix all ingredients in large bowl.

Assemble the Rolls

Separate the blanched cabbage leaves, and lay the first leaf out on your cutting board. If the base of the cabbage is very thick, you may want to trim that part off for easier rolling.

Spoon an eggroll-sized amount of filling into the cabbage leaf as pictured on the right, and roll just like you would a burrito or a spring roll.

Place rolls seam-side down in lightly oiled skillet. I prefer to pan fry these rolls, but they can also be steamed or baked and turn out delicious!

Fry until browned on both sides and cooked through, around 10 to 15 minutes total.

Sweet Chili Sauce

1/3 cup water
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup cane sugar or other sweetener of choice
1 tsp finely minced garlic
1 tsp finely minced ginger
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp or more dried red chili flakes (or finely chopped fresh hot chiles)
2 tsp corn starch

Place all ingredients except for cornstarch in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring regularly. Dissolve corn starch in 1tbsp of cold water and stir cornstarch mixture in once sugar has dissolved. Continue stirring until sauce has thickened.

I prefer to use fresh Birdseye chilies in this sauce for the fresh, hot and tangy taste, but dried chili flakes are just as delicious!

This sauce will keep in the refrigerator for a couple weeks.

Top your cabbage rolls with sweet chili sauce and chopped chives or scallions, and enjoy!