Japanese Style Cabbage Rolls is one of the popular dishes originating from Western cuisine. Pork and beef mince (ground meat) is stuffed in cabbage leaves and cooked in chicken stock with a few bacon pieces.
Cabbage roll recipes are everywhere on the internet but many of them are cooked in tomato-based soup. My cabbage rolls are cooked in clear chicken broth. This is the way I have always cooked them and it’s also the original Japanese version, I think.
I must mention to you that in Japan, Cabbage Rolls are called ‘rōrucabetsu’ (ロールキャベツ), meaning ‘roll cabbage’. It is a 100% japanised English word – not only is each English word converted to suit to Japanese pronunciation, but the sequence of words is also swapped!
Anyhow, let’s talk about my Cabbage Rolls.
Filling
I use equal portions of pork mince (ground pork) and beef mince (ground beef). Pork mince makes the filling softer while beef mince adds body to the filling.
I also add finely chopped onions that are sautéed before mixing into the meat. Many recipes don’t cook onions beforehand, but I like them cooked so that the sweetness from the onions comes out and the texture of the onion pieces mix well with the mince.
Add an egg, cornflour/corn starch, nutmeg, salt & pepper to complete the filling. It is very similar to the Hamburg steak in my post Stewed Hamburg Steak (Nikomi Hamburg), but no breadcrumbs.
How to remove cabbage leaves whole without breaking
Cabbage is the star of Cabbage Rolls. As you will need large leaves of cabbage to wrap the filling, buy a whole cabbage if possible and remove the outer cabbage leaves.
It is quite challenging to remove the outer leaves without breaking them. I find that the following method is the easiest to remove a leaf.
- Place a whole cabbage upside down.
- Find the outermost leaf of the whole cabbage. Using a tip or the edge of a knife, make an incision at the core-end of the thick vein where the leaf is attached to the core and detach the thick vein from the core.
- Place the incision under the tap and run the water.
- Hold the core-end of the leaf and gently pull outward while letting the water run through inside the leaf you are removing.
The idea is to use water to help peel the cabbage leaf easily. See the neatly removed cabbage leaves below.
Preparing and rolling cabbage
Cabbage leaves need to be blanched so that the leaves are softer and easier to handle when rolling. Before blanching, you need to shave the core-end of the thick vein off so that the vein becomes a similar thickness to the rest of the leaves. See the bottom photo above – the left cabbage shows the shaved vein.
You will need a large pot to boil the cabbage leaves in so that you don’t scrunch the leaves to fit them in the pot = less chance of breaking the leaves. You will only need to wilt the cabbage leaves. Cool the leaves down before rolling.
Rolling is quite simple. It is almost like wrapping the box of a present with paper. See the step-by-step photo below as well as the recipe instructions.
If your cabbage leaves are broken or very small, you can use a couple of leaves overlapping each other and use them as one leaf.
Simple Broth of Cabbage Rolls
Unlike most of the Western style cabbage roll recipes, I use chicken stock with a small amount of bacon pieces to cook the cabbage rolls. Bacon gives a good flavour to the broth. It is such a simple broth but while cooking the cabbage rolls, the good flavour from the filling and the cabbage also come out converting the broth to something very flavoursome.
Japanese Style Cabbage Rolls are meant to be served with broth. Slightly pink bacon pieces add a colour to the dish as well as play a role as garnish.
You can keep Cabbage Rolls in the fridge for a few days. They can also be frozen. To defrost, you could use a microwave, but I find that heating the cabbage rolls in a saucepan with a lid on over medium low heat works the best.
Cabbage Rolls are considered to be a winter dish, but I can eat them throughout the year, except really hot days.
Yumiko
PS: I added a new section ‘MEAL IDEAS’ below the recipe card. It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and the new recipe in this post that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you!
WPRM
Japanese Style Cabbage Rolls is one of the popular dishes originating from Western cuisine. Pork and beef mince (ground meat) is stuffed in cabbage leaves and cooked in chicken stock with a few bacon pieces.
- 4 large cabbage leaves (note 1)
- 30g/1.1oz bacon , cut into short 1cm/⅜” wide strips
- 250ml/0.5pt chicken stock (salt reduced) (note 2)
- 50ml/1.7oz water
- Salt to adjust flavour
- 1 onion , minced
- ½ tbsp oil
- ½ tbsp butter
- 200g/0.5lb pork mince
- 200g/0.5lb beef mince
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp cornflour/corn starch
- A large pinch of ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- Pepper
- Parsley finely chopped
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Heat oil and butter in a frying pan over medium heat and sauté the onion for about 3 minutes until some onion pieces start browning around the edges. Turn the heat off and let it cool.
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Trim the thick vein from the core-end of the leaf so that the thickness of the vein becomes similar to the rest of the leaf.
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Bring a large pot of water to a boil with a pinch of salt. Add the cabbage leaves to the boiling water and cook for about 3 minutes until the leaves become soft. (note 6)
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Transfer the leaves to a bowl of cold water to cool them down quickly, then pat dry with paper towels.
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Put the cooked onion and the rest of the Filling ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
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Divide the filling into 4 equal portions and shape them into a barrel shape.
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Spread a cabbage leaf on a cooking bench with the core-end pointing to you (note 3) and place one of the fillings in the middle closer to the vein end (see the step-by-step photo in the post).
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From the core-end, roll the leaf up tightly. When the core-end reaches to the other side of the filling covering the filling completely, fold each side of the cabbage leaf over to the centre so that the width of the unrolled cabbage leaf becomes the same as the filling.
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Continue rolling the filling with the leaf until the end. If the side of the roll is sticking out, gently push it in to the centre and shape the roll into a fat log shape.
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Place the cabbage rolls, the end of roll facing down, into a deep medium size frying pan that can snuggly fit the cabbage in.
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Spread the bacon strips over the cabbage rolls. Pour the chicken stock as well as water over them and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
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When it starts boiling, reduce the heat to low and cook for 30-40 minutes with a lid on until the broth reduces to less than half (note 4).
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Transfer the cabbage rolls to serving plates and pour over the broth. Garnish with parsley if using. Serve while hot.
1. Each of my cabbage leaves was about 20cm x 20cm (8" x 8"). If you have smaller cabbage leaves, you can make small cabbage rolls but increase the number of leaves to use up the filling.
To remove a leaf without breaking, hold the whole cabbage upside down, make an incision to the thick vein near the core using the tip or the corner of a knife and detach the thick vein from the core. Then run water over the incision, trying to get the water inside of the outer leaf while pulling the core-end of the leaf off.
2. Instead of chicken stock, you can use a stock cube or powder. Use the required amount of cube/powder to make up 250ml of stock.
3. If the leaf is a bit broken, overlap the broken pieces and use it. A small slit or a hole should not be a problem as the cabbage wraps around the filling twice. If the hole is large, rip a piece off the side of the cabbage and patch it.
4. Depending on the size of the pot, temperature of the heat, the amount of reduction varies. Check the liquid quantity after 30 minutes and stop cooking if the broth is reduced sufficiently. If too much liquid is remaining, remove the lid and continue to cook.
5. Cabbage Rolls can be kept in the fridge for few days. They can also be frozen. To defrost, place the cabbage rolls in a saucepan, add a small amount of water and heat over medium heat with a lid on for 10-15 minutes until the centre of the cabbage rolls become soft and heated up.
6. A couple of readers mentioned to me different methods of softening the cabbage so I am adding them here.
Instead of boiling the cabbage leaves you can either steam them or freeze the leaves then thaw them. The latter method requires a bit of planning to allow time for the leaves to freeze and thaw.
7. Nutrition information per serving:
serving: 198g calories: 219kcal fat: 15g (23%) saturated fat: 5.3g (27%) polyunsaturated fat: 1.5g monounsaturated fat: 6.9g cholesterol: 82mg (27%) sodium: 630mg (26%) potassium: 291mg (8%) carbohydrates: 9.3g (3%) dietary fibre: 1.3g (5%) sugar: 3.5g protein: 11g vitamin a: 2.9% vitamin c: 20% calcium: 2.7% iron: 6.7%
Meal Ideas
A typical Japanese meal consists of a main dish, a couple of side dishes, a soup and rice. I try to come up with a combination of dishes with a variety of flavours, colours, textures and make-ahead dishes.
As the amount of mince per cabbage roll is only 100g, I suggest a small amount of seafood as a side, i.e. Bonito Tataki in appetiser quantity or Kingfish Tataki. To add bright colours to the meal, I chose Mixed Vegetable Salad Dressing that can be poured over boiled cauliflower or vegetables of your choice. Surprisingly, people eat Cabbage Rolls with rice and miso soup in Japan.
- Main: Cabbage Rolls – today’s recipe, can be made ahead or freeze and defrost
- Side dish 1: Bonito Tataki (Seared Bonito) in appetiser quantity or Japanese-style Kingfish Tartare (Kingfish Tataki)
- Side dish 2: Boiled Cauliflower and tomato (and/or other vegetables) with Mixed Vegetable Salad Dressing – make ahead cauliflower and dressing
- Soup: Daikon and Aburaage Miso Soup
- Rice: Cooked Rice
Tip for cabbage leaves: Put the whole cabbage in the freezer overnight. No blanching necessary.Leaves peal off nice and soft.
Hi Jannine, thanks for the tip! I must try this.
In case you thought this “old” recipe was forgotten… Found it and made it tonight. Nutmeg was a great touch.
Thank you!
Hi Jo, thank you for the 5 stars!
I made these this week and they were so good! I just have to get a bit better at detaching the cabbage leaves without tearing them. :,) Mine had lots of patched areas!
Hi Laura, I am glad to know that you enjoyed it. It’s quite alright to have patches. The flavour counts!
I found cooking the cabbage European style before removing the leaves worked much better than blanching individual leaves. Far less finnicky and tearing. I make mine with rice, rather than breadcrumbs, with salmon and smoked salmon filling (with veg stock and a little fish sauce), just for something different.
Hi Anser, thanks for a different techniques and fillings. I assume the European styles is to put a whole cabbage in boiling water for a short period to soften the cabbage. I would probably do that if I need many leaves.
Just made these for dinner and it was delicious!!!! Will definitely be making these again!
Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Hi Diane, great! It’s pretty easy to make, right?
Hi Yumiko,
Is it better to use Napa Cabbage or normal white cabbage? I bought a huge Napa cabbage and the leaves looks really beautiful. Arigato-Gozaimasu!
Hi SH, Japanese cabbage rolls are usually made with cabbage leaves, not Nappa cabbage. However, some people do use Nappa cabbage especially in Japanese winter when Nappa cabbage is in season. By the sound of it, you have a good Nappa cabbage so I would strongly recommend using your Nappa cabbage. Use the leaves that are wide and not broken. If the white part of the leaf is very thick, trim it to make it thin.
Thank you for your speedy reply! Just in time for me to make this dish tonight ..a very cold NZ winter evening!
This was super yummy Yumiko! Made as you have described in your recipe. Really enjoyed it.
Hi SH, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for the tip on trimming.I am an australian expat living in Hong Kong and prefer home style Japanese cooking. Tips like this are invaluable, I can get many things from Japan and take advantage of the seasonal specials. The Japanese cabbage I bought was large and very thick white park and I immediately thought I couldn’t do this even if I cooked leaves before.
Hi Marika, I am glad to hear that some tips were useful. Enjoy Japanese home cooking!
This is so delicious. Simply added some shiitake, oyster and baby bello mushrooms at the end along with some green onions to finish with the bacon. Can’t wait to make it again. Only used half the meat mix and rolled up six portions. They remaining mix will make wonderful dumplings. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hi Brian, addition of mushrooms sounds yummy!