Chinese Cabbage Rolls (白菜卷)

4 standard portions

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Ingredients

• 16 napa cabbage leaves
• 2 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 cup minced napa cabbage white part
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic (, minced)
• 1 scallion (, sliced, white and green parts divided )

Method

1. Prepare shiitake mushrooms: Soak the shiitake mushrooms in warm water until turning soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Cut off and discard the stem. Squeeze water out of the cap and mince it.
2. Prepare napa cabbage leaves: Select napa cabbage leaves that are not too large, cut off the white part (*Footnote 1). Mince the white part until you get 1/2 cup.
3. Cook napa cabbage leaves: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the napa cabbage green part, blanch for 20 seconds, until softened. Drain, rinse with cold water to stop cooking, drain thoroughly and set aside to cool.
4. Mix pork filling: Add the pork, minced shiitake mushrooms, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and the cornstarch. Mix well until the ground pork is sticky. Add the 1/2 cup minced napa cabbage white part and mix again.
5. Assemble cabbage rolls: To assemble rolls, add about 1 to 2 tablespoons (*Footnote 2) of the pork filling onto the lower bottom of the napa cabbage, leaving about 1” (2.5 cm). Roll the leave up to cover the pork, then tuck and fold both sides, keep rolling up until it forms a roll. Place the roll to a plate that can fit into your steamer, seam side down. Assemble the remaining rolls and place onto the plate without stacking. Steam in two batches if needed.
6. Steam cabbage rolls: Prepare a steamer and bring the water to a boil. Steam the napa cabbage rolls for 12 minutes, until cooked through.
7. Make the sauce: Make Once done, carefully remove the plate from the steamer. Transfer the cabbage rolls to a clean serving plate and let it sit for 2 to 3 minutes to release excess moisture. Meanwhile, pour the liquid from the steaming plate into a medium bowl. Once the cabbage rolls have sat for a few minutes, tilt the plate to pour any pooled liquid into the same medium bowl. Add the oyster sauce, light soy sauce and dark soy sauce, stir to combine.
8. Make the slurry: Mix the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water until dissolved completely.
9. Cook the sauce: Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the garlic and scallion white. Stir a few times to release fragrance.
10. Finish up the dish: Pour in the mixed sauce, stir and cook for 20 seconds. Mix the cornstarch mixture again and slowly pour half of it (*Footnote 3) into the pan while stirring constantly, if the sauce doesn’t thicken up, mix in more cornstarch slurry until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Pour the sauce over the napa cabbage rolls and garnish with scallion greens. Serve hot as a main dish.