Napa cabbage

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spring, fall

Napa cabbage is tricky. Succulent stems full of water, tender thin leaves that lose moisture quickly. Wait to rinse this one until you’re ready to use it. Store it loosely wrapped in the refrigerator until then. The best way to store it? Make kimchi!

(2023) Gut-Nourishing Salad with Creamy Peanut Dressing

I’m also adding a recipe from purelyplanted.com for Gut-Nourishing Salad with Creamy Peanut Dressing which I know we will need both pre-and post-Thanksgiving’s crazy meals. Use your cabbage, daikon and greens from this week’s box to make that salad.

~Conne

(2023) Chicken and Vegetable Donabe

I confess there’s still Napa cabbage from weeks past in our basement refrigerator. Instead of trying to cook a whole one at once, I’ve taken to just peeling off leaves as needed for a recipe. So the recipe below will probably only use 4 or 5 leaves. The rest of that cabbage will go back in the refrigerator and be joined by this week’s cousin. But that means we’ll have beautiful cabbage to enjoy through the rest of 2023. No complaints here.

~Conne

(2023) Napa and Radish Salad

I love the Napa and radish salad recipe from Beautiful Briny Sea that’s appended below. Absolutely perfect for the contents of this box AND what a nice change of pace from the way many of us have been preparing all the Napa cabbage we’ve been receiving recently.

This is adapted from one created by Grant Park-based Beautiful Briny Sea, maker of the Campfire Sea Salt used in the recipe. If you don’t happen to have Campfire Sea Salt in your pantry, it’s a mix of smoked sea salt, cumin and ancho chili. You could substitute a bit of smoked paprika, salt and cumin, and ground ancho chili if you have it, and make a fine substitute.

(2022) Bully Boy’s Teriyaki Sauce

If you’re looking at a behemoth bok choy and wondering what to do with it, turn to Riverview’s collection of recipes – https://grassfedcow.com/ingredient/bok-choy/ – for about two dozen ideas. But … I offer you a new one. I had dinner at Bully Boy Sunday night and my friends enjoyed their salmon teriyaki which is served with baby bok choy drizzled with their teriyaki sauce. It was delicious and it just happens we’re publishing that recipe in the AJC in about two weeks, so I am here to share the basics on that sauce so you can reproduce something like it at home. The bok choy was steamed until completely, meltingly tender, and served with the sauce (and the salmon and some steamed green beans). Use a few of the green onions from your box to make this. This sauce is definitely sweet so you just need a little. But it will keep in your refrigerator for a long time, so use it on other vegetables and proteins.

(2021) Napa Cabbage Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

I also ran into this recipe from Gourmet many years ago, Napa Cabbage Slaw with Radishes and Celery. We seem to be past having radishes in our box, but maybe you still have some of that celery from a few weeks ago. Anything crunchy would work. Cucumbers instead of radishes? And the dressing will work just as well on that bag of lettuce as it will in the slaw. The notes with that recipe are from Smitten Kitchen.

The dressing is a simple blend of buttermilk, apple cider vinegar, a touch of mayo, shallots, sugar, salt and pepper but the flavor is anything but. This is my new go-to creamy dressing. I am sure it would equally delicious with some crumbled blue cheese mixed in, if you’re into that kind of thing.

The dressing would be really great on an iceberg wedge or romaine hearts salad, or any kind of everything-but-the-kitchen-sink mega mixed bowl. Like your lunch tomorrow.

(2019) Grilled Napa Cabbage Slaw

And then there’s this recipe adapted from one by Laurie Moore of Moore Farm and Friends. You might know Laurie, she’s in the booth just a few tables away from Riverview at Freedom Farmers Market. As she says, “If you’re already firing up the grill, this is a great way to get some great flavor on the veggies, too.” 

(2019) Mark Bittman’s Vegetable Pancakes

Vegetable pancakes seem to be a thing these days, and I love this recipe from Mark Bittman that will use up any vegetable you have on hand. You can use some of that lettuce if you chop it and maybe saute a little before mixing into the batter. Spinach? Sure. Grated kohlrabi. Absolutely. Chopped cabbage, probably anything from this week’s box except maybe the tomatoes which might turn watery.We eat these either with a little soy sauce or a little hot honey. That’s my new addiction and I’m not even a fan of hot sauces. But hot and sweet like the hot honeys people are producing these days? Love it.

(2018) Okonomiyai (cabbage pancakes)

Recently I’ve been playing around with her Okonomiyai (cabbage pancakes). I used the bok choy from a few weeks ago in that recipe. Traditionally it would be made with green cabbage, but you know, the bok choy worked perfectly. And I realized this recipe could be adapted to any green or vegetable like sweet potatoes or daikon or mustard greens or kale. You make an eggy, loose pancake batter, then you fill it with whatever vegetables you like. I enjoyed these for dinner but they were just as delicious for breakfast the next day. Here’s the basic recipe.

Her note: Adapted from a recipe on Food52, these pancakes are simple to throw together and make delicious use of an abundance of cabbage. I use 4 times the amount of cabbage called for in the original recipe (8 cups as opposed to 2), and I omit the shrimp, though I imagine the addition of shrimp would be very tasty. I like these with a soy dipping sauce (as opposed to a mayonnaise-based one). The one below is one I’ve been using for years, but feel free to use your own.

(2017) Cabbage Salad with Tahini Dressing

This recipe from SeriousEats.com is good when it’s fresh, but it’s really nice when it’s wilted as well. A great do-ahead. If you’re going to make it ahead, combine the cabbage and onion and add just a little salt. Let the vegetables sit maybe two hours in a colander and then give them a good squeeze. Now you’ve removed a lot of the moisture and the dressing won’t get watered down as the salad rests.

Kimchi

Kimchi is traditionally made with Napa cabbage, and is a great way to use daikon radishes. If you only have “regular” cabbage – just substitute it for the Napa in the recipe.
The Korean chili powder is pretty essential. You can find it at the Buford Highway Farmers Market, but also at grocers that specialize in Korean foods.
The recipe comes from “Tart and Sweet” by Kelly Geary and Jessie Knadler. Add some sliced mustard greens if you like, that’s also a traditional addition.

Napa Cabbage and Apple Slaw with Tahini-Lime Dressing

I don’t remember where I first saw this recipe, and I can’t find the original, so I’m going to give you some general proportions to work with. I made this over the weekend for a potluck Halloween party and it was a big hit.

Grilled Napa Cabbage Slaw

Another recipe from Laurie Moore of Moore Farms and Friends.

“Oh, my gosh, try our delicious method for a slaw everyone will rave about! If you’re already firing up the grill this is a great way to get some great flavor on the veggies, too.”

CSA Salad with Buttermilk-Green Onion Dressing

The gorgeous head of lettuce in my CSA box made me run for the salad bowl. Slice up the radishes you don’t put into a sandwich, add the cucumbers and then make this simple dressing. You could sliver some of the Napa cabbage into your salad as well. And what about boiling up a few of those eggs and adding egg halves? Now you’ve got a perfect lunch or light dinner.

Napa Cabbage and Mushroom ‘Lasagna’

Ok – this recipe is a little fiddly for weeknight cooking, but that Napa cabbage will hold up beautifully until this weekend and what a great idea to use those lovely leaves for lasagna instead of in yet another Asian-flavored slaw. (Although I do love those Asian-flavored slaws.)

Hoisin Pork with Napa Cabbage

I’m sorry not to remember where this recipe came from, but it’s a delicious and pretty traditional use for that head of Napa cabbage.

Vegetable Lo Mein

Oops – another recipe adapted from the folks at Prevention magazine …. but this one is great for incorporating lots of lots of vegetables. You can decide how much of your bok choy or Napa cabbage to include – the whole head? half? a quarter?

Asian Cabbage Salad

I’ve adapted this salad recipe from Paige Witherington, the farm manager for Serenbe. Always love a cabbage salad that features a vinaigrette instead of a mayo-based dressing. This one has so many wonderful flavors and textures. This recipe will be great with the Napa cabbage we hope to see in our boxes sometimes this year as well.

Asian Slaw Dressing from Aria in Buckhead

In the jar of a blender, make the dressing by combining lime juice, vinegar, sugar, shallot, salt and ginger. Puree, then add oil in a slow stream. This will emulsify into a vinaigrette. Refrigerate until ready to use. This particularly nice in slaws made with...

Stir-fry Sauce

One of the things I do to make a quick stir-fry even quicker is to keep a jar of stir-fry sauce in the refrigerator. You could buy a jar, but why? When you’re ready for dinner, heat up some vegetable oil, sauté your vegetables (this week you could use bok choy, beet greens, thinly sliced beets, onions, garlic and/or squash) and when it’s just about done, add just enough of this sauce to coat everything lightly. The cornstarch will thicken quickly and your stir-fry is done. I love that I don’t have to haul out the ginger and the garlic and the soy sauce and whatever every time I want to make a quick meal. This sauce will keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. Vary the proportions to suit the taste of your household.