Napa cabbage and green cabbage are blanched and stuffed with carrots, cucumbers, mint leaves, and tofu. Serve these cabbage rolls with an easy gochujang peanut sauce!
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Cabbage rolls are the perfect heat wave food and we Californians need them right now. They are crunchy, refreshing, and packed with veggies. I’ve never been obsessed with cabbage, but now I’m obsessed with cabbage.
I first came across a version of cabbage rolls where the cabbage is blanched and after you assemble the rolls, the rolls are pan fried. Given my tendency to taste test every part of the process, I realized I really liked them as soon as I blanched the cabbage and assembled the rolls. The only heat involved is a few minutes for blanching the cabbage and pan frying the tofu. The rolls are usually stuffed with a mixture of rice, round meat or tofu, and sauces, but I went the summer roll route and used carrots, cucumbers, and mint leaves to make it very refreshing.
How to Make Cabbage Rolls
Pick a cabbage, any cabbage.
I used Napa cabbage and green cabbage, but any cabbage works! Carefully peel off the outer leaves so you have large cabbage leaves.
Blanch the cabbage.
Submerge the cabbage in boiling water for 2 minutes. Then place in an ice bath to prevent it from cooking further.
Prep the fillings.
What you include in the rolls is totally your call, but I felt like the summer roll route would be crunchy, refreshing, and fun. I stuffed these with carrots, cucumbers, mint leaves, and crispy pan-fried tofu.
You could also go the rice and tofu route, where you combine a short-grain rice, smashed up tofu, veggies, and seasonings.
Make a dipping sauce.
I love a good peanut sauce and adding gochujang to my usual recipe was a great move. Gochujang is a spicy fermented Korean chili paste. You’ll need peanut butter, tamari or soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, ginger, and gochujang.
Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
- 12 large cabbage leaves
- 7 oz. firm tofu (half a block), cut into thin rectangles about ¼-inch thick
- 1 tbsp cornstarch for coating the tofu
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 carrot, julienned
- 1 cucumber, julienned
- 20-25 mint leaves
gochujang peanut sauce
- 3 tbsp peanut butter
- 1.5 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- ½ tbsp lime juice (or juice from ½ a lime)
- 1 tbsp gochujang
- 1 inch ginger, grated
- water to thin
Instructions
- Bring water in a tall pot to a boil. Set up a bowl with ice cold water. Boil cabbage for 2 minutes, in batches if necessary. Submerge the cabbage in the cold water to prevent further cooking. Let the cabbage cool until it's comfortable to handle.
- Heat sesame oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Mix the cornstarch with a pinch of salt in a bowl. Lightly coat the tofu in the cornstarch and pan fry until both sides are crisp and golden. It should take 3-4 minutes per side.
- To make the sauce, simply mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. Add water to thin.
- Cut off the stem of the cabbage if it makes it easier to roll. Add carrots, cucumbers, mint leaves, and tofu. Drizzle some gochujang peanut sauce on the tofu. Fold in the sides of the cabbage and roll.
If you like these cabbage rolls, you may also be a fan of…
Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Mango Almond Butter Sauce
