Since Saint Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, my local grocer has had some excellent prices on cabbage. Since I always try to shop sales, I picked up a couple of extra heads. Cabbages tend to store for a much longer time than heads of lettuce. Historically, they were stored for long periods hung upside down by their roots in an outside building or mulched in the gardens for families to enjoy well into the winter. Unfortunately, the cabbage you buy at your local grocer has been far too abused to last that long, but they will last for a few weeks in the refrigerator if they are uncut. I have had them last for over a month when they are uncut. Once the cabbage has been cut, the vitamin content will begin to be lost and spoilage is just around the corner.
Since I have multiple heads of cabbage taking up space in my refrigerator, I have to come up with some creative ways to cook them. After all, there’s only so much coleslaw that one family can eat. I love to include cabbage in my root cellar and garden vegetable soups. I considered making some sauerkraut since fermented foods are very good for you, but I didn’t want to have to wait a few days. Ultimately, I chose to make some cabbage stir fry. The process is really simple, and the results are delicious. We served the cabbage with some pork chops, and it was a delicious combination.
Give the recipe a try and let us know what you think.
Thanks for visiting Patty Cake’s Pantry.
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
- 1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- Red Pepper flakes to taste (optional)
- ½ medium head of cabbage shredded onto bite sized pieces
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Heat oil in wok or large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. (You can also use pan drippings from your meat to cook the cabbage.) You will need a lid for this pan.
- Add onions, garlic and optional red pepper flakes to the hot oil.
- Saute for 1-2 minutes stirring frequently to prevent the garlic from burning.
- Add cabbage and mix well with the onion and garlic mixture.
- Mix together soy sauce, water, sugar, and rice vinegar.
- Pour soy sauce mixture over the cabbage.
- Cover pan and allow to steam for 2-3 minutes or until your desired degree of tenderness.
- If you allow this to steam longer than 2-3 minutes, stir regularly to prevent sticking and burning.
- My kids love this recipe.
- Stir frequently until cabbage is wilted and to your desired level of tenderness.
The bacon sounds good, and the recipe looks great. I like cooking cabbage in stir fry recipes.
Cabbage is one of those unappreciated vegetables. One of my favorite stir fries includes cabbage, bacon, onions, and noodles dressed with a special sauce.
In my house, any “baconized” recipe is a hit! I’m surely going to try this one.
Denise, isn’t it amazing how the addition of bacon can make any recipe better? Bacon is great with green beans, too.
Absolutely! I must say, I like it, too!
Bacon makes everything better, right?