Spicy Garlic Napa Cabbage - delicious pan fried Napa cabbage with fresh garlic and the spicy kick from red chilli flakes. A perfect side for a variety of main dishes.
Spicy Garlic Cabbage
If there is one vegetable side dish I love it's cabbage, there are just so many things you can do with it, and it goes so well with various main dishes.
Great as a separate side or combined into things like stir fries etc to bulk out with veggies.
This spicy garlic Napa cabbage is the perfect side dish for main Asian inspired dishes, for example my recent Korean Ground Pork - yum!!!
What is Napa cabbage?
Napa cabbage is a type of Chinese Cabbage that has an oval shape, with pale green ruffled leaves and a firmer crunchy white stem. It can be eaten raw or cooked. My favourite way to eat it, is usually roughly chopped up and added to stir fry dishes.
The most popular use. for Napa cabbage is in Korean Kimchi - which is a staple food in Korean cuisine. It is a side dish of fermented vegetables - Napa cabbage and Korean radish, with a flavoursome blend of seasonings including a spicy kick from Gochugaru (a coarsely ground Korean chili powder.
Can I use any green cabbage?
If you would like to try this recipe, but can't find Napa Cabbage or Chinese Cabbage, then you can substitute for any light green cabbage.
Bean sprouts are a great addition too as they add a lovely crunchy texture to the dish.
Can I use any sweetener?
I use a little bit of maple syrup in this recipe, it balances the heat and gives a nice coating to the cabbage with the soy sauce and sesame oil etc.
If you don't have any maple syrup in the house you can use honey or a little bit of sugar too.
Sweetener is fine to use too if you want to use that, but it doesn't caramelize the same so you won't get quite that same glossy sauce that coats the cabbage.
Sesame oil in Recipes
Sesame oil is used in Asian style recipe for flavour and seasoning. A small amount adds such a delicious nutty earthy taste to recipes.
It's not really used as an oil to cook with. Generally it's added at the end of the recipe.
So for that reason I don't recommend omitting to try and save the calories as you are removing all that flavour. It's only a teaspoon which is 40 calories.
Main Courses for Garlic Napa
This recipe will work as a side dish for most Asian recipes. But if you are looking for inspiration for what to serve it with I definitely recommend the Korean Ground Pork or Beef Bulgogi
I love to create bowls with these recipes, add some rice and some thin carrot batons, some pickled daikon radish (available at Korean markets or Asian markets) and some Nori Seaweed. Yum
Just like this yummy bowl below with the Korean Ground Pork
More Side Dishes
Looking for more side dish recipes? Check out these:
- Irish Buttered Cabbage
- Roasted French Green Beans
- Aloo Gobi (Indian Spiced Potatoes and Cauliflower)
- Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Roasted Butternut Squash
- Brussels Sprouts Gratin
- Balsamic Tomatoes and Spinach
- Roasted Butternut Squash with Paprika
or if you would like more recipe ideas - head on over to the FULL RECIPE INDEX where you will find over 900 delicious recipes and can search by ingredients, course, diet and more.
All with estimated calories, Slimming Eats and Weight Watchers Smart Points values.
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Recipe Card
Spicy Garlic Napa Cabbage
Spicy Garlic Napa Cabbage - delicious pan fried Napa cabbage with fresh garlic and the spicy kick from red chilli flakes. A perfect side for a variety of main dishes.
Ingredients
- 1 medium sized Napa cabbage, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 4 spring onions (green onions), chopped
- 1 teaspoon of red chilli flakes
- 1.5 tablespoons of soy sauce (I used Kikkoman)
- ¼ cup (60ml) of water
- 2 teaspoons of maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil
- pinch of white pepper
- spray oil
Instructions
- Heat a frying pan over a medium high heat, spray with cooking oil spray add the garlic and fry for about 30 secs to infuse flavour/soften. (be careful not to burn)
- Add in the cabbage with the soy sauce, red chilli flakes, pinch of white pepper and a ¼ cup of water.
- Cook until the cabbage softens and most of the liquid is cooked off, then add in the green onions, sesame oil and maple syrup and continue to cook until the liquid left in the pan coats the cabbage in a slightly glossy sauce.
- Serve with your favourite main course.
- Enjoy!!
Notes
Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:
- Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
- WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs - due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1 SERVINGAmount Per Serving Calories 68Total Fat 1gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 0mgSodium 377mgCarbohydrates 9gFiber 1gSugar 4gProtein 2g
Nutritional information, values, points etc are an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. It is always advised that you calculate by the ingredients you use.
Rachael says
Delicious and quick dish to make. I was surprised at how much flavor it had. Thanks for a new recipe!