It’s all things cauliflower and cabbage in our recent CSA boxes and this Simple Sauteed Napa Cabbage with Easy Stir Fry Sauce has been a fast favorite for a Napa cabbage recipe.
This Chinese cabbage variety is quickly sauteed with garlic and ginger before tossed in an umami packed sauce for an easy cabbage recipe that is a recurring guest on our Weeknight Dinner Menu. Scroll down to see how quickly we prep this side dish and don’t forget to pin or print the recipe card today!
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
This Napa Cabbage stir fry dish is fast! It’s ready in less than 20 minutes and that’s a win in my book every time. I love a simple sautéed Napa cabbage that is tossed in a sauce that adds extra flavor making it a great way to use up this seasonal Asian vegetable. You’ll love that the cabbage is roughly chopped into bite-sized pieces and is one of those healthy seasonal recipes that is ready in minutes.
Ingredients for this Easy Sauteed Napa Cabbage Recipe
Whether you pick up a few heads of this cabbage at the farmers’ markets or you received them in your CSA box delivery, we’ll need a few pantry staples to help whip up this dish as part of the complete meal. Here’s what we’ll need:
- Neutral cooking oil. You can use grape-seed oil, canola oil, or avocado oil. I’ve also used toasted sesame oil as a finishing oil. I tend to stay away from olive oil as the flavor of the olive can impact the flavor of the stir fry sauce ingredient.
- Napa Cabbage. We’re using 1/2 a head of cabbage in this recipe. Once we give it a rough chop it yields about 8 cups.
- 3 Japanese Negi or spring onion. The Negi is one we’ve been getting in our CSA box and I love the flavor here. Spring onions make for a great option too.
- Aromatics. We’re grating garlic and ginger so it melts into our simple side dish of sauteed Napa cabbage with our stir fry sauce.
- Stir Fry Sauce. We’re whisking up a mix of mirin, a Japanese cooking wine, with rice vinegar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and gochujang. A bit of brown sugar adds just a slight sweet flavor to our sauce and the cornstarch offers best results to help thicken our sauce.
A Note On Swaps and Substitutions
You can omit the gochujang if you are not a fan of the slightly spicy kick that it affords. Or, for a milder heat add in a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or Korean chili flakes. You can also substitute maple syrup for the sugar and coconut aminos for the soy sauce.
How to Make this Simple Sauteed Napa Cabbage with Stir Fry Sauce
- Heat oil over high heat in a large skillet (not non-stick). While the pan heats remove the outer leaves of the cabbage and cut into quarters, lengthwise. Then begin to roughly chop the head of green cabbage into bite sized pieces. You can also opt to slice the cabbage into thin strips. Set to the side.
- Add the chopped Negi or spring onion to the preheated pan and cook until just softened, about 2 minutes. Add the grated garlic cloves and ginger, and cook, stirring constantly until fragrant and starting to brown, about 30 to 60 seconds.
- Stir in Napa cabbage (the skillet will be full.) Let cook about 3-4 minutes to allow the Napa to wilt.
- While the cabbage cooks, whisk together the mirin, rice vinegar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, gochujang, and corn starch. Stir until the corn starch is well combined into the sauce mixture.
- Once cabbage has begun to wilt, pour in the stir fry sauce and stir until the sauce begins to thicken. Simmer sauce for 3 to 5 minutes until thickened to desired consistency and the cabbage is coated in the sauce. Serve immediately.
What to Serve with this Sauteed Napa Cabbage Recipe
Seasonal veggies always feel like a treat to enjoy and while we enjoy our latest obsession of this stir fried cabbage recipe. I like serving this with stir fry bell peppers and shiitake mushrooms on a bed of rice. It’s also been delicious alongside Miso Roasted Radishes. It is truly an easy veggie side dish that is sure to be a fast favorite.
Store any leftover cabbage in an airtight or sealed container in the refrigerator. Enjoy within 3 to 5 days.
Simple Sauteed Napa Cabbage with Easy Stir Fry Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons neutral cooking oil grape-seed, canola, or avocado oil
- 1/2 head of Napa Cabbage yields about 8 cups
- 3 Japanese Negi or spring onion ends trimmed and thinly sliced
- 3 cloves grated garlic
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1/4 cup mirin Japanese cooking wine
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons gochujang
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
Instructions
- Heat oil over high heat in a large skillet (not non-stick.) Add the chopped Negi or spring onion and cook until just softened, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring constantly until fragrant and starting to brown, about 30 to 60 seconds.
- Stir in Napa cabbage (the skillet will be full.) Let cook about 2 minutes to allow the Napa to wilt.
- While the cabbage cooks, whisk together the mirin, rice vinegar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, gochujang, and corn starch. Stir until the corn starch is well combined into the sauce mixture.
- Once cabbage has begun to wilt, pour in the stir fry sauce and stir until the sauce begins to thicken. Simmer sauce for 3 to 5 minutes until thickened to desired consistency and the cabbage is coated in the sauce. Serve immediately.
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