Steamed Cabbage Rolls: Healthy Alternative to Egg Rolls

Cabbage Rolls (aka Stuffed Cabbage) is a common dish among Eastern Europe and Asia, and has been adopted throughout the world. With the replacement of growing poppies with cash crops in Asia, Hmong farmers have been cultivating cabbage for 30+ years now. According to my mother, who experienced first-hand the cultivation of cabbage in Laos, Hmong people were familiar with and ate cabbage but they didn’t learn to make cabbage rolls until arrival in the U.S. I assume that they adopted this recipe from the Chinese seeing as it is a mixture of Chinese Stuffed Cabbage and Egg Rolls.

This delectable dish consists of wrapping various ingredients inside of a leaf of cabbage. It is a very healthy alternative to egg rolls. Cabbage rolls can be cooked in many different ways such as steamed, simmered, or baked. In this blog post, I will be showing you know to make steamed cabbage rolls with a simple stuffing, similar to that of egg rolls. Let’s get started, shall we?

Meet the Main Ingredients

Ingredients List:

• Cabbage – 10 to 12 leaves
• Filling:
  • Cellophane Noodles – 1 package
  • Ground Pork – 1 pound
  • 1 whole yellow onion minced
  • Salt – 1 tbsp

Preparation

Cabbage Leaves:

1. Boil a pot of water
2. Cook cabbage leaves in boiling water for 2-3 minutes until soft
3. Drain cabbage leaves and soak in cold water to cool down

Filling:

1. Soak cellophane noodles in hot water for 10-15 minutes until soft
2. Drain noodles and cut into 2 inches length
3. Mix noodles with ground pork, minced onion, and salt

Wrapping:

1. Take a cabbage leaf and lay it flat
2. Scoop two spoonful of filling into cabbage leaf
3. Roll cabbage leaf in the same way as you do an egg roll (see photos below)

Cooking Instructions

1. Place wrapped cabbage rolls into steamer and cover with lid
2. Cook on stove for approximately 20 minutes or until filling is fully cooked

Presentation: Steamed Cabbage Rolls

• Allow cabbage rolls to cool down
• Serve with pepper sauce (or any sauce of your choice)
• Enjoy! 🙂

Alternatives

• Are you a vegan? Substitute ground pork with tofu or various veggies
• Replace cellophane noodles with brown rice
• Try baking the cabbage rolls instead of steaming
• Try other veggies such as carrots or celery

Fish Dish: Boiled Tilapia w/ Herbs and Veggies

Hunting and gathering have always been basic functions of traditional Hmong culture. Fishing was always an available source of food and fish were abundant in supply. Many traditional Hmong dishes which incorporate fish are adopted from geological locations of residence such as Laos, Thailand, China, and Vietnam. Nowadays, in modern Hmong culture, fishing is less of a necessity as we can purchase fish from grocers. But the ingredients of this delicious dish remain (for the most part) the same as well as the flavor.

For as long as I can remember, my mom has always made boiled Tilapia at least once every few weeks for my dad. This dish is probably one of my dad’s favorites. It’s extremely nutritious and you’ll be surprised by how easy it is to make. The fresh herbs and vegetables assist in bringing out an amazingly rich taste and aroma. Let’s get started, shall we?

Meet the Main Ingredients

 

Ingredients List:

• 1/2 cup – Culantro (Not to be mistaken with Cilantro)
• 1/2 cup – Mint Leaves
• 1/2/ cup – Green Onions
• 1/2 cup – Cilantro (Not to be mistaken with Culantro)
• 10 peppers – Thai Chili Peppers (Optional)
• 2 stalks – Lemon Grass
• 1 – Tilapia Fish
• 5 cups water in pot
• 1 tbsp – salt

Preparation

1. Chop up the vegetables and herbs.
2. Cut the Tilapia fish into four pieces as show in the photo above.

Let’s get cooking!

Cooking Instructions:

1. Put 5 cups of water into cooking pot.
2. Put the pot on the stove – high heat. 
3. Add the cut up Tilapia fish to the pot.
4. Add the Thai chili peppers and lemon grass.
5. Bring the pot to a boil.
6. Add salt.
7. Add the rest of the vegetables and herbs.
8. Cook for a total of 30 minutes or until fish is fully cooked.

Presentation: Boiled Tilapia w/ herbs and veggies

• Take the pieces of Tilapia fish out from the pot and assemble them on a plate.
• Pour the fish broth over the fish.
• Spoon the herbs and vegetables over the fish as pictured above.

*Best served with a side of sticky rice.

Alternative: Try adding tomatoes for a kick of flavor 🙂

Enjoy!

Welcome the Spring Season with Light & Healthy Fresh Spring Rolls

The history of spring rolls comes from cultures all over the world. But it’s not a native food of the Hmong people. It was adopted from eastern and southern Asian cultures. This light, delicious, and healthy cuisine is a favorite among many – probably because there are no set ingredients that you MUST use. For example, iowagirleats.com uses tofu and avocado. And there’s even a whole category of fried spring rolls as seen in norecipes.com. So I want to share with you how I like to make my fresh spring rolls.

Meet the Main Ingredients

These ingredients will go inside the spring rolls.

This is the kind of vermicelli noodles that I will be using.

And this is the kind of rice paper that I will be using. You can find this and the vermicelli noodles at your local Asian super market.

Step 1: Preparation

• Vermicelli Noodles
  • Cook in boiling water – 15 minutes
  • Rinse with cold water
  • Allow noodles to drain
• Shred vegetables (except cilantro)
• Prepare shrimp – I’m using pre-cooked shrimp
• Bowl of warm sink water (Used to soak rice paper)
• Flat surface to roll spring rolls on
  • I used a cutting board wrapped in foil

Step 2: Let’s Get Rolling

1. Soak rice paper in warm water for 5-10 seconds.

2. Lay rice paper on prepared surface.

3. Arrange ingredients in middle of rice paper.

4. Fold the two sides of the rice paper in.

5. Fold bottom  side (closest to you) of rice paper up.

6. Roll rice paper away from you until rolled up completely.

Step 3: Time to Get Saucy

• Ingredients
  • 1 part chunky peanut butter
  • 2 part hoisin sauce
• Instructions:
  • Microwave peanut butter for 10 seconds till soft and stir in with hoisin sauce.

Ta-Da! Completed Fresh Spring Rolls!

Ideas for Alternatives/Substitutions

• Go vegan – substitute it with tofu or eliminate the shrimp completely
• Don’t like shrimp? Try ground pork or grilled chicken
• Want more variety of veggies? How about spinach, basil, green onion, celery, or mint?
• Try using bean thread noodles or rice noodles as an alternative

I’d like to know what ingredients you would or have put in your spring rolls! Please comment them below.