Best Sauteed Cabbage Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep cabbage crisp when cooking? ›

Steaming is a gentle cooking method that helps retain the cabbage's crispiness and nutrients. To steam cabbage, place it in a steamer basket over simmering water and cover with a lid. Steam until it's tender yet still slightly crunchy. If you plan to sauté or stir-fry cabbage, consider blanching it first.

Adding baking soda to your boiling cabbage can help reduce the objectionable smell and maintain the green color long after when it typically turns grayish from cooking for too long. However, this may rid the cabbage of its nutritional value.

Green is the heartiest variety; it takes well to all cooking methods. Red can turn a funny blue color when cooked, so it's best used raw. If you do want to cook it, add a touch of acid like lemon juice or vinegar to lessen the effect. Savoy can be used in any recipe that calls for green cabbage.

Giving sliced wedges of cabbage a quick roasting session in the oven will help them to caramelize and get nice and crispy. Instead of getting soggy and overcooked, the cabbage will have a nice crisp texture and a more complex flavor than raw cabbage. You can also infuse cabbage with tons of flavor by braising it.

Crisp it up: Shredded cabbage stays perky if it's soaked in cold water. This also helps cut the pungent edge. Drain well before combining with other ingredients.

If leaves are not pliable enough after parboiling for 1 minute, return them to simmering water another 1-2 minutes to desired softness. Are you salting the water before parboiling? Salt can help soften cabbage.

This is a bad practice, however, and you should avoid adding baking soda when boiling any type of vegetable. It has various unwelcome effects, such as softening the vegetable, altering the vegetable's flavor, destroying thiamine content, and hastening the loss of vitamin C.

Boiled cabbage is notoriously smelly and steaming is often thought of as a less aromatic way to cook the vegetable. However, the pungent smell is actually the result of overcooking. Boil it just until tender, and you won't have a stinky kitchen.

One way to cut down on some of the gas-producing effects is to choose cooked cabbage over raw. “Generally speaking, cooking can help reduce this effect by 'softening' the fiber, making it a little bit easier on the digestive system,” explains Cording.

The salt then draws moisture out of the cabbage's cells through osmosis, forming a salty brine. This brine is important because it submerges the cabbage and deprives the Lactobacillus and other microorganisms of oxygen – the second step!

How do you know when cabbage is done cooking? ›

Shredded cabbage will be done in around 5 minutes; for wedges, it'll be done around 10. You want to cook until tender, but err on the side of caution—overcooked cabbage will turn limp and give off a less-than-pleasant smell. Tip: Make sure to drain your cabbage to prevent overcooking!

Cabbage and onions contain sulfur-based compounds and enzymes that are kept apart — and nonreactive — in separate cells when the plants are whole. But when you cut the vegetables, the compounds and enzymes mix, creating pungent, bitter and foul-smelling compounds that repel insects (and people!).

These leaves can be tougher and take longer to cook than the inner leaves. - Boil or braise the cabbage. These cooking methods involve simmering the cabbage in liquid, which can contribute to tenderness. For example, you can braise cabbage in broth or boil it until fork-tender.

That's because plants make sugars when they photosynthesise (they use carbon dioxide and water to make energy). The energy is sugar in the form of glucose, fructose and sucrose. These are then stored in the plant. So the quicker you eat them, the sweeter they will taste.

Your vegetables are about to get even crispier with this simple tip. The next time you roast vegetables, add some cornstarch. Yes, cornstarch—that box in your pantry is the secret to a super-crispy exterior on veggies, from potatoes to cauliflower.

What are some tips for cooking veggies so they aren't rubbery? I like to boil them for a few minutes, until they are ALMOST done, then take them out of the hot water, dump them into a big bowl of ice water, then return them to the boiling water for maybe one minute. Makes them crisp and not rubbery or floppy!

Cooking green cabbage too long

This can be especially noticeable when boiling or simmering cabbage for an extended period. But, it's not just the bad smell you have to contend with. Overcooking cabbage causes it to become mushy and limp. It can also lose its vibrant green color.