One of the vegetables I use quite often in fall and winter is napa cabbage. I primarily use it to make all kinds of hot pot dishes and quick Fresh Kimchi. Many of you have asked what else you can do with napa cabbage besides using it for a hot pot. So today I’ll show you the easiest and quickest Japanese Pickled Napa Cabbage (白菜の浅漬け) recipe.
Why You Should Make This Recipe
This recipe is for you if you’re looking for a recipe that is…
Easy and quickCustomizableGreat for utilizing a lot of vegetables
When you don’t know what to do with a big portion of vegetables, quick Japanese pickled vegetable called asazuke (浅漬け) is a way to go. With the use of salt, the vegetables will release its moisture and shrink the volume tremendously. Since we always serve one or two types of tsukemono (Japanese pickles) as a part of the meal, we can use up quite a bit of vegetables this way.
Enjoy Pickled Napa Cabbage in 2 Flavors
Since this pickled napa cabbage recipe is really easy to make, let me introduce two flavors: sesame flavor and kombu flavor. You can choose either one, or make both! If you cook Japanese recipes before, you probably have sesame oil, sesame seeds, kombu (dried kelp), and rice vinegar already in your pantry. I keep the ingredients minimal, so you can always make this recipe with vegetables you have in the fridge, along with those pantry-friendly ingredients/condiments I mentioned above.
How to Make Napa Cabbage Pickles
Ingredients You’ll Need
Napa cabbage – You can use green cabbage. Read below for substitution.Salt – The amount of salt should be 2.5% of the weight of napa cabbageSeasoning Option 1: roasted sesame oil and sesame seedsSeasoning Option 2: kombu (strips) and rice vinegar
Overview: Cooking Steps
Cut the napa cabbage into strips or square pieces and put in a resealable bag.Weigh the napa cabbage on a kitchen scale. To calculate the salt, it should be 2.5% of the weight of the napa cabbage.Add the salt to the bag. (For Seasoning Option 2, also add the kombu strips.) Massage the napa cabbage through the bag. Set it aside in the refrigerator. Squeeze and drain the water.Add the seasoning and mix it together.
Napa Cabbage and Substitution
Called hakusai (白菜) in Japanese and commonly referred as Chinese cabbage, this versatile cabbage is a favorite vegetable widely eaten in East Asian cuisines. We use in soups, stews, stir-fries, gyoza fillings, salads, and more. Napa cabbage tastes mild and slightly sweet and won’t interfere with other more assertive flavors. The fibrous stem is crunchy and succulent, and the ruffled leaves cook quickly. These days, you can find napa cabbage at most supermarkets. If not, you will find it at Asian and Japanese grocery stores.
Substitution
If you can’t find napa cabbage, you can use green cabbage for this recipe. I often make it with regular cabbage too. You can also use other vegetables, such as cucumber, zucchini, carrot, celery, bell pepper, daikon radish, kabu (Japanese turnip), eggplant, myoga ginger, and tomatoes. 💡 Tip: Whatever vegetable you decide to use, I highly recommend measuring the weight of the vegetable using a kitchen scale instead of volume (cup) to determine the accurate amount of salt.
Two Important Tips
Use a kitchen scale to measure the weight of napa cabbage so you can add an accurate amount of salt. It is another tool but you will not regret it. With the kitchen scale, you can switch around different vegetables and measure the proper amount of salt (2.5% of vegetable weight). May I suggest my favorite kitchen scale ($26) after purchasing 3 different ones?Use a resealable plastic bag to put the vegetable and salt. I’m environmentally conscious but for a quick pickled vegetable, it’s really important that you are able to rub the vegetable with salt through the plastic bag and facilitate the “quick pickling” process. We don’t have time for the vegetable to slowly release its moisture with heavy weights on top of the vegetable like a normal pickle recipe.
Other Japanese Pickle Recipes
4 Easy Soy Sauce PicklesPickled Sushi Ginger (Gari)Spicy Japanese Pickled CucumbersSenmaizuke (Japanese Pickled Turnip)Japanese Pickled Cabbage12 Japanese Pickles You Can Make At Home
Tableware from Musubi Kiln
I’ve partnered with a great ceramic online shop from Japan called Musubi Kiln. You will get 10% off with a coupon code JUSTONECOOKBOOK for your purchase. In this post, I’ve used:
Chrysanthemum Usuki Round Plate
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