The Step You Can't Skip When Prepping Cabbage For Stir Fry

Cabbage, the leafy, dense, cruciferous ball of nutritious goodness, has become the vegetable darling of recipe developers and home cooks alike. The reason behind its resurgence is simple: We've learned how to cook them. While we're not here to knock the age-old boiled tradition of cabbage stew, the reality is there are as many types of cabbage as there are ways to cook them. Some cabbage varieties, such as napa cabbage, do well when fermented in a classic kimchi recipe. Others, such as green cabbage, do better when roasted in the oven or crisped in the air fryer. With the right techniques applied to the corresponding cabbage type, your cabbage can sweeten to caramelization, roast to an almost meaty, umami taste, or soften to topping perfection when eaten raw. But what about stir frying?

Heat is one of cabbage's favorite cooking applications. The high heat of a frying pan or wok helps break down its strong structure so that it's deliciously easy to eat. Plus, porous cabbage is happy to take on the strong spice and sauce that comes with any good stir-fry. The only problem is, if you don't blanch your cabbage, it might turn to mush before your stir-fry is finished cooking. Plus, you might not mind, but blanched cabbage appears brighter, tastes fresher, and just plain looks more appetizing to eat.

When you blanch cabbage, or any green vegetable, you're deactivating the enzyme that turns green vegetables brown. With just one extra step and a few extra minutes, your cabbage can keep its vibrant shade and maintain some of its bite. As a note, this technique works well for cabbage, which can use a little softening, but it's not a bad idea for most other vegetables you'd like to fry, including peas, green beans, snap peas, and broccoli.

On a burner next to your frying pan, fill the biggest pot you have with water and a little salt and set to a boil. In batches, boil your chopped cabbage for 30-45 seconds before transferring the pieces to a bowl of ice water with a strainer. Because you'll be cooking your cabbage in oil later, you don't need the cabbage leaves to become tender, just a little more vivid in color. After the ice bath, let your cabbage drain on a plate of paper towels so that you won't introduce any water to your hot frying pan. From there, you're ready to stir-fry as normal.