Vietnamese cabbage rolls are an Asian take on the traditional cabbage roll. They are stuffed with rice noodles and ground pork seasoned with garlic, cilantro, mint, and scallions as well as fish sauce and rice vinegar. As with the traditional rolls, this filling is stuffed into blanched cabbage leaves and rolled up, then cooked. In this case they are pan fried and then steamed.
These are served with a typical Vietnamese dipping sauce made from fish sauce, garlic, lime juice and hot pepper. We really loved this take on cabbage rolls and these were delicious. I had a bit of extra filling, which I fried the rest of the rice noodles, and that was a tasty dish on its own too. I used napa cabbage leaves, you can also use Chinese cabbage or just regular green cabbage.
Vietnamese Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
- 1 bunch cilantro minced
- 1/2 bunch mint minced
- 4 scallions minced
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 cups cooked rice vermicelli noodles cooked and then chopped into 2 inch pieces
For the cabbage:
- 8-12 large cabbage leaves blanched for 2 minutes in boiling water then placed into an ice bath
For the sauce:
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 birds eye chili minced or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Combine the sauce ingredients and mix well. Set aside.
- Heat a deep skillet of water over high to boiling and add the large cabbage leaves. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes until the thick end becomes pliable. Place into ice water until ready to use.
- Combine all the filling ingredients including cooked noodles and mix well. Place 2 tbsp oil in the skillet you used to blanche the cabbage (after pouring out the water). Lay a cabbage leaf out on a cutting board and fill the larger end with filling. I probably used a generous 1/4 cup filling for the size leaves I had. Start to roll up towards the smaller end, tucking in the sides. Place the rolled up packet in the skillet and finish the rest.
- Heat the pan over high heat initially, to get a little browning on the cabbage. Then add 1/4 cup water and reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes, adding more water if the pan gets dry. Check the internal temp of the rolls with an instant read thermometer (or cut one open). When the filling is fully cooked they are done. Carefully remove them from the pan and serve.