How To Turn Cabbage Into Easy Dumpling Wrappers

Relegated to the shadows for decades as a banal, tasteless, uninteresting vegetable, cabbage is currently having a comeback — one that's well-deserved. Though sometimes associated with bland, boring dishes, cabbage has literally hundreds of uses that are not only packed with flavor, they're also incredibly nutritious. Cabbage itself is chock full of potassium, fiber, folate, and vitamins C and K, and it's frequently paired with hearty ingredients like ground pork and white rice to create a delicious, filling, well-rounded meal.

In fact, cabbage is almost as popular as dough when it comes to savory stuffed dishes. The aforementioned combination is one of the most popular, with the term "pigs in a blanket" referring to pork and rice stuffed cabbage rolls in certain regions, rather than the slightly more familiar mini hot dogs in fried dough. They're also pretty easy to make, with the most cumbersome part being softening the cabbage leaves just enough to wrap them into neat little pan-friable packages.

The usual method is to steam them until soft and tender, but this can be tricky, as too much steaming can cause them to split, while not enough can leave them too brittle. Freezing them, on the other hand, makes them perfectly pliable and easy to wrap around whatever suits your fancy. Simply chuck the whole head into your freezer until frozen solid, peel off as many leaves as you need, stuff them with the filling of your choice, and fry until golden and hot all the way through.

The reason freezing cabbage leaves makes them soft and pliable is because its cells are full of water, which is what makes the leaves juicy. When frozen, the water inside the cells turns into ice crystals that burst the cell walls and effectively destroy the structural integrity of the leaves. This produces soft, pliable cabbage leaves that make pretty effective (and tasty) taco shells or wrappers for things like ground chicken seasoned with ginger and miso, or portobello mushrooms and fried onions coated in chili crisp oil.

Of course, it's also best to remember that cabbage frozen simply by tossing it into the freezer (without blanching) will only stay fresh for about two months. That means you should have plans to use it fairly quickly, while also keeping in mind that different types of cabbage are good for different things. Napa cabbage is the type usually used to make dumplings, as its leaves are more elongated and fairly soft, making them the perfect size and shape for the task. You can also use napa cabbage to make kimchi, add it to soup, or slice it thin and toss it together with pasta.

However, if you'd like your cabbage to have a longer freezer life, you're better off blanching it and sealing it in freezer-safe bags before freezing. Blanching in boiling water and shocking in ice water helps preserve your cabbage's freshness so it will last up to nine months before it spoils.