Asian Cabbage Rolls with Dipping Sauce
Savoy cabbage rolls with a shiitake-rice filling, baked in mushroom broth
Yield: 4-6 servings
Active: 1 hr · Total: 2 hr ·
Ingredients
Mushroom rice filling
12 oz shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
2 tbsp coconut oil, grass-fed ghee, or pastured lard
2 banana shallots (or 1 medium onion), very finely diced
4 large garlic cloves, finely diced
4 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated (this is a ginger-forward filling — reduce to 1-2 tsp for a milder version)
½ tsp Chinese 5 spice
¼ tsp white pepper
pinch chili flakes (optional)
2 tbsp tamari (or coconut aminos)
1 cup uncooked Jasmine or brown rice (or pre-cooked riced cauliflower for grain-free)
For the cabbage wrappers: 1 large Savoy cabbage (about 14 large whole leaves)
For baking: 2-3 cups bone broth
½ tsp sea salt
Protein filling
½ lb pasture-raised ground turkey or grass-fed ground beef, browned with the mushrooms
Optional vegetable filling for rolls
½ cup grated zucchini
½ cup grated carrot
¼ cup sliced bell pepper
2 tbsp thinly sliced scallions
Soy-lime dipping sauce
¼ cup coconut aminos or tamari
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp raw honey
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
½-1 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
pinch red pepper flakes (¼ to ½ tsp, to taste)
Garnish
thinly sliced scallion greens
toasted sesame seeds
Method
Make the mushroom-protein filling
Heat the fat in a large skillet or sauté pan. Begin sautéing the chopped fresh mushrooms (chopped, woody stems discarded) for about 8 minutes. Then add the diced shallots and cook gently until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and ginger. Cook 1–2 minutes, stirring frequently (they burn easily).
Add the Chinese 5 spice, white pepper, and chili flakes. Stir to combine with the aromatics.
Add in your protein of choice and brown for 5 minutes, breaking it into small pieces.
Add the salt and tamari. Mix well.
Cook the rice and combine
While the mushroom-protein mixture cools slightly, cook 1 cup jasmine or brown rice according to package directions (about 18 minutes for jasmine, 35-40 minutes for brown rice). If using pre-riced cauliflower, lightly sauté it in 1 tbsp ghee or coconut oil for 3-4 minutes until tender. Stir the cooked rice (or cauliflower rice) into the mushroom-protein filling and combine thoroughly.
Prep the cabbage leaves
Remove the leaves. Make a delicate incision at the bottom of each cabbage leaf where it attaches to the head.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Have a large bowl of ice water ready.
Plunge 4-5 leaves at a time into the boiling water. Blanch 30-90 seconds, until the leaves are just pliable (vibrant green and softened but not falling apart). Transfer immediately to the ice water.
Trim the outside stem of each leaf with a sharp knife — run the knife along the stem, removing any thick parts that protrude above the leaf surface.
Assemble and bake
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a large baking rimmed dish (Pyrex baking dish or something similar with a glass lid, Le Creuset Dutch Oven or other ceramic baking dish) with coconut oil.
Place a trimmed cabbage leaf on a work surface, inside facing you. Place a heaped tablespoon of filling at the bottom of each leaf. If using the optional vegetable filling (grated zucchini, carrot, bell pepper, scallions), add a small spoonful alongside the mushroom-rice mixture.
Fold the sides to the middle and roll the leaf gently (not too tightly) until the filling is enclosed.
Place seam-side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue with the remaining leaves.
Add the broth. Pour 2-3 cups of bone broth over the rolls — enough to come about ⅓ of the way up the rolls.
Cover tightly. Cover the dish with a matching ceramic or glass lid. If your dish is uncovered, layer parchment paper directly over the rolls and top with an inverted heatproof plate or smaller baking dish to seal in the steam. Avoid aluminum foil — it can leach small amounts of aluminum into food at high heat (glass, ceramic, stainless steel, and cast iron are safer alternatives). A traditional approach: lay several large cabbage leaves (extras from the head) or banana leaves over the rolls as a natural cover, then place an inverted plate or lid on top — the leaves seal in moisture and add subtle flavor.
Bake. Bake about 40-50 minutes, until the cabbage leaves are deeply tender and the rolls are heated through. The bone broth should be bubbling at the edges.
Rest. Remove from the oven. Rest 10-15 minutes — this lets the rolls firm up slightly and the flavors integrate before serving
Make the dipping sauce and serve
Make the dipping sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut aminos, lime juice, rice wine vinegar, raw honey, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. If the honey is solid or thick, warm the sauce briefly (5-10 seconds in a small saucepan over low heat, or 5 seconds in a small microwave-safe bowl) to help the honey dissolve. Taste and adjust honey or lime to your preference
Plate the rolls. Sprinkle with scallions and sesame seeds. Serve with dipping sauce alongside.
Lettuce wrap variation: Skip the cabbage roll format and serve the soy-lime sauce filling as small lettuce wraps. Combine ½ cup grated cucumber or zucchini, ½ cup grated carrot, ½ cup sliced red or yellow bell pepper, 2 tbsp scallions in a bowl. Add 1 tbsp of the dipping sauce. Spoon onto small bibb lettuce leaves.
Storage
Whole assembled rolls (refrigerated): Up to 4 days, sealed. Reheat in a covered baking dish at 325°F for 15 minutes.
Whole rolls (frozen): Up to 2 months, well-wrapped. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat as above.
Mushroom-rice filling (made ahead): Refrigerated up to 3 days, sealed.
Dipping sauce: Refrigerated up to 1 week in a sealed glass jar.
— Anna aka Food Marshall