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Preparation
25 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
This colorful stuffed napa cabbage dish looks like a vibrant and beautiful flower, doesn’t it? It looks elaborate, but it’s not difficult to make at all. Let’s get cooking to prepare this delicious steamed dish.
Ingredients for Colorful Stuffed Napa Cabbage Serves 4 people
Ground pork 100 gr Corn 1 ear Carrot 1 piece Wood ear mushrooms 2 pieces Shallots 2 bulbs (chopped) Garlic 3 cloves (chopped) Green onions a bit (finely chopped) Chili 2 pieces (for decoration) Common seasonings a bit (salt/sugar/pepper/seasoning powder)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh napa cabbage
- You should choose napa cabbage heads that are fresh and of uniform size, weighing about 1.5 – 2kg each.
- Napa cabbage should have thin leaves, light green at the top and gradually white from the body to the root, with thick stalks, not too rough or infested with pests.
- Do not choose dark green cabbage leaves as these are old, not sweet and crispy, and have lower nutritional value than firmer cabbage leaves.
- Avoid cabbage leaves that are bruised or have brown spots on them.
How to choose fresh corn
- You should not choose corn that is too large; only select those that are moderately long and slender.
- You need to choose yellow corn (sweet corn) for a tastier dish rather than buying sticky rice corn (white corn).
- If the corn still has husks, you should choose ears with fresh husks, light green color, soft and smooth silk, and the cob should not be brown or wilted. Additionally, the outer layers of husk should cling tightly to the corn.
- In the case that the corn has been husked, observe the kernels. Good corn will have plump, uniform, shiny, and straight kernels.
How to choose fresh carrots that are delicious
- Fresh and delicious carrots will have a deep orange and bright skin. The root should be firm and sturdy to the touch. The top of the carrot should still be green and not wilted.
- You should choose long, slender carrots with fewer eyes on the body to make cooking easier.
- Avoid purchasing those with rotten tops and curved bodies, as these are old carrots and difficult to prepare.
- Do not buy carrots that are infested with pests or cracked, and have an unusual smell.
How to choose fresh and delicious pork
For this colorful pork roll with napa cabbage dish, using lean pork or pork with a mix of lean and fatty meat is the best choice. You can easily buy pre-ground pork at markets or supermarkets. Additionally, you can buy the meat and then chop it or grind it yourself using a meat grinder at home.
- Fresh pork will have a dry outer membrane, and the surface of the cut will be firm when touched without feeling sticky.
- The fresh meat has a pinkish-red color, soft texture, while the fat is opaque white.
- You should choose meat that feels elastic when pressed and has a distinctive fresh meat smell.
- If you see the meat is dark red or blackened, you should not buy it as it may be pork raised with lean meat additives.
- Avoid buying meat that is pale green, dark black, or has red skin.
How to make colorful pork roll with napa cabbage
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Prepare the ingredients
Peel the corn, wash it clean, and use a knife to separate the kernels into a bowl.
Peel the carrot, wash it clean, and cut it into small dice.
For the wood ear mushrooms, soak them in hot water for 15 minutes until they expand, then remove the stems, rinse with clean water, and cut into strips.
Separate the napa cabbage leaves and wash them thoroughly. Bring a pot of boiling water to a boil, add the napa cabbage and blanch for 3 minutes, then remove and let it drain.
Once the napa cabbage is drained, use a knife to cut off the stems, as this part is quite hard and thick, making it unappealing visually and will take longer to steam.
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Season the filling and roll the meat
Mix 100g of minced meat with corn, carrots, mushrooms, finely chopped green onions, shallots, and minced garlic along with seasonings including 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 3 teaspoons of seasoning powder, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Marinate the filling for about 15 minutes to let the flavors blend.
Place about 4 – 6 leaves of Napa cabbage into a bowl so that the leaves swirl around the bowl to encase the filling. Scoop 2 ladles of meat filling in and press tightly, then gather the leaves together to cover the meat filling.
Do the same with the remaining Napa cabbage leaves and meat filling.
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Steaming
Place a pot of water on the stove. When the water boils, add the bowl of napa cabbage rolls into the pot and steam for 15 – 20 minutes over medium heat.
Once the napa cabbage rolls are cooked, take the bowl out and let it cool. Then, invert the bowl onto a plate, lift the bowl away, and use scissors to cut it into 6 – 8 bite-sized pieces. You can also garnish with a few sliced chili and decorative green onions.
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Final Product
So we have completed the simple yet very delicious colorful meat napa cabbage rolls. This dish combines many familiar vegetables, prepared by steaming to retain the natural sweetness of the ingredients. This dish promises to be an appealing option for every family meal.
See more
It’s easy to successfully make delicious Chinese cabbage rolled with five-colored meat. This is a dish that changes your family’s menu so it doesn’t get boring. Wish you success!
* Refer to images and recipes from the YouTube channel Women and Family
