Cabbage Rolls

Chinese cabbage was plentiful in the markets recently and I usually buy a whole one (not a pre-cut half) and then struggle to think what else to cook with it besides stir fried cabbage with dried shrimp and bean thread noodles.

I have made these cabbage rolls once before and decided to make them again this time using turkey mince filling. With the turkey, I also added chopped garlic, shitake mushrooms, shaoxing wine, soy sauce, pepper, sesame oil and a little salt and sugar. The flavours are very nice, but the meat was a little dense so I might add some more vegetables like water chestnut or carrots.

You must be wondering how to wrap the cabbage since it is not pliable at all! Be sure to select the outer/middle leaves so that you will have a large enough leave to wrap the filling with. You only need the leafy bit so cut away where the leafy bit ends and the stem begins. Blanch the leaves in boiling water for half a minute, then refresh in cold water so that the leaves remain green. You don't want your dish looking like they've been sitting in the bain marie for three days!

Drain the leaves, and pat dry if you have to. Then put some filling at the bottom of leaf and roll upwards, be sure to tuck the two sides in before finishing rolling. As there is already quite a lot of moisture in the leaves, there is no need for a sealing agent like corn flour slurry or water.

Steam the rolls till cooked, about 15 minutes and finish off with a sauce of your choice. I used abalone sauce with scallops but you can also use oyster sauce or chicken stock (thickened with corn flour slurry).