Authentic Taiwanese Cabbage Stew

Last Updated on March 16, 2023

Taiwanese Cabbage Stew (白菜滷) is probably one of the most underrated Taiwanese foods. It’s made with napa cabbage.This is a simple, plain dish with no fancy ingredients..

I would say this Taiwanese Cabbage Stew indeed is just a very humble dish that is hiding in the streets, if you have ever tried it, I think you would totally agree with me.

Taiwanese Cabbage Stew

The Chinese cabbage in this dish is So so so Tender and naturally sweet, paired with Shiitake mushroom, the strong, earthy, and umami flavor. The Tofu Skin and Wood Ear mushroom give this cabbage stew some chewy and crunchy texture. That Carrot plays a big role in giving this dish some contrasting color.

Taiwanese Cabbage Stew goes so well with steamed rice even noodles. Every time I go back to my hometown to visit my family, I’d never forgotten to spare some time to go to a restaurant, specifically order this dish and enjoy.

Since I moved to Australia, I started my experiments on making Authentic Taiwanese food recipes, and this Vegan Taiwanese Cabbage Stew recipe is the best by far! Here I’m going to share with you!

Vegan Napa Cabbage Recipes

Chinese Cabbage: in Mandarin, Chinese cabbage is known as dàbáicài (大白菜), , literally means “big white vegetable.” Outside of Asia, this vegetable is also referred to as Chinese cabbage.

Regionally, in North America, is known as Napa Cabbage, in the U.K., this vegetable is known as Chinese leaf or winter cabbage, in Australia and New Zealand as wong bok or won bok, wombok is also used in Australia. Another name used in English is petsai or pe-tsai. Here, because I don’t wanna cause confusion, I just call it Chinese Cabbage.

Raw Chinese cabbage has a thin, crisp texture and a mild taste, and when cooked, it softens and gets sweeter.

The Ingredients for Taiwanese Cabbage Stew

The Seasonings

Preparation for the dried ingredients

• Chinese Cabbage– the taste and texture from Chinese Cabbage is the key feature in this dish, so, unfortunately, it cannot be replaced by normal cabbages.

• Carrot- peeled and cut into thick slices.

• Ginger– fresh ginger peeled and cut into Julienne( matchsticks), it cannot be replace by other ingredients. ( Even ginger powder or ginger paste)

• Shiitake Mushroom– dried Shiitake mushroom only! Rehydrated in hot water for 20 minutes before cooking, also, we need the mushroom soaking liquid for the sauce. They’re packed with umami thanks to the amino acid glutamate. When cooked, shiitake caps have a velvety, meaty texture. If you don’t like the tough texture of the stalks, you can simply remove them by cutting them off. Are you looking for a substitute for shiitake mushroom?

• Wood Ear Mushroom– Hydreated in hot water for 20 minutes before cooking. They are known for its chewy-crunchy texture, but almost flavorless taste. Often used in saucy dishes, the mushrooms will take on flavors from other ingredients when cooked and add texture to the dish.

• Tofu Skin– Tofu skin, also called Yuba, dried beancurd, or soybean skin. It has its own distinct flavor like tofu and chewy texture. Rehydrated in hot water for a couple of hours. If you’re in a hurry, you can simply boil them in a pot to reduce the waiting time or just buy fresh tofu skin.

• Sesame Oil– in this dish, sesame oil is gonna be used as cooking oil. (P.S. Sesame oil has a high smoking point)

• Light Soy Sauce and Vegan Oyster sauce– good sauces will bring out good results. L.K.K. is the best so far.

• Water– as braising liquid, you can use vegetable stock if you like.

• Ground White Pepper: it’s essential in this dish

• Corn Starch: for making cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce.(corn starch and water ratio- 1:1 )

Pre-cook Cabbage

1. Cut Chinese Cabbage vertically into big chunks.
2. Boil a pot of water, add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt. (Salt helps to break down the fiber of Chinese cabbage)
3. Cook until the Chinese cabbage softens.
4. Take it out and set it aside.
5. Chopping the other ingredients.

How to make Taiwan Cabbage Stew

1. Heat up sesame oil in a heavy besed pot on medium-low heat.
2. Once the sesame oil starts sizzling, add ginger, carrot and Shiitake mushrooms in, saute about 5 minutes until aroma comes out.
3. Add cooked Chinese cabbage into the pot.
4. Add mushroom soaking liquid and water.
5. Add seasonings, light soy sauce, vegan oyster sauce and ground white pepper.
6. Add wood ear mushroom and tofu skin.
7. Put the lid on, let it simmer for 30 minutes on low heat.
8. After 30 mintues, add cornstarch slurry to slightly thicken the sauce.

Hope you enjoy this Napa cabbage recipe!

Other Dinner recipes you may like:

• Best Marinated Tofu
• Pad Pak Thai
• Singapore Noodles
• Sha Cha Glass Noodles in under 10 minutes
• Super easy five spice Tempeh popcorn with basil
• Vegan Curried Tofu Fried rice- one wok in under 15 minutes!
• Yaki Udon
• Vegetable Yakisoba
• King Oyster Mushroom Stir Fry with Cashew Nuts

More Side Dishes Recipes

Brussel Sprout Salad

Korean Pickled Radish (Crunchy!)

Easy Focaccia Recipe

Fire Roasted Tomatoes

Authentic Taiwanese Cabbage Stew

I would say this Taiwanese Cabbage Stew indeed is just a very humble dish that is hiding in the streets, if you have ever tried it, I think you would totally agree with me. 

5 from 19 votes

Print Rate

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 83kcal

Author: SHU-CHUN

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Ingredients

• ▢ Chinese Cabbage 1/2ea approx. 750g (Note 1)
• ▢ Ginger 30g Note 2
• ▢ Carrot 120g
• ▢ Shiitake Mushroom Dried 10ea (approx. 25g) (Note 3)
• ▢ Wood Ear Mushroom Dried 7g (Note 3)
• ▢ Tofu Skin Dried 50g (Note 4)
• ▢ Sesame Oil as cooking oil 3 Tbsp (45ml)
• ▢ Light Soy Sauce 2 Tbsp 30nl
• ▢ Vegan Oyster Sauce 2 Tbsp 30ml
• ▢ Ground White Pepper 1/4 tsp
• ▢ Water 2 cup 480ml
• ▢ Cornstarch slurry 1 Tbsp Corn starch mix with 2 Tbsp water
• ▢ Salt to taste

Instructions

• ▢
  Rehydrated Shiitake mushrooms, Yuba( tofu skin), and wood ear mushrooms in hot water (Check note 3 and 4 for instructions) Meanwhile, cut Chinese Cabbage vertically into big chunks.
• ▢
  Boil a pot of water, add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt. (Salt helps to break down the fiber of Chinese cabbage)
• ▢
  Cook until the Chinese cabbage softens.
• ▢
  Take it out and set it aside.
• ▢
  Chopping the other ingredients.
• ▢
  Heat up sesame oil in a heavy-based pot on medium-low heat.
• ▢
  Once the sesame oil starts sizzling, add ginger, carrot, and Shiitake mushrooms in, saute’ about 5 minutes until aroma comes out.
• ▢
  Add cooked Chinese cabbage into the pot.
• ▢
  Add mushroom soaking liquid and water.
• ▢
  Add seasonings, light soy sauce, vegan oyster sauce, and ground white pepper.
• ▢
  Add wood ear mushroom and tofu skin.
• ▢
  Put the lid on, let it simmer for 30 minutes on low heat.
• ▢
  After 30 minutes, add corn slurry and stirring to slightly thicken the sauce. Serve with rice or noodles, enjoy!

Video

Notes

• Note 1: It cannot be replaced by normal cabbages.
• Note 2: Fresh ginger only, no paste or powder.
• Note 3: Dried Shiitake mushroom only as we want to reserve the soaking liquid for our quick stock! P.S. They need to be rehydrated in hot water for 20 minutes before cooking. For wood ear mushrooms, they only take less than 10 minutes in hot water to rehydrate.
• Note 4: Dried tofu skin needs to be hydrated in hot water for a couple of hours. If you’re in a hurry, you can simply add some vinegar or baking soda to the boiling water to reduce the waiting time. Or you can just buy fresh tofu skin.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 83kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 972mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g

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