Napa cabbage may be the Chinese vegetable we know best. It’s become as familiar on restaurant menus as beets or Brussels sprouts.
Napa cabbage, also known as celery or Chinese cabbage, is a stocky barrel-shaped cabbage that can weigh up to 10 pounds. Napa cabbage leaves are very different from the relatively uniform leaves of our familiar round heads of white cabbage. Each napa cabbage leaf has two textures, a juicy white center stem and delicate pale green crinkled edges.
Patricia Bennett of Green Ola Acres grows napa cabbage in her 2-acre garden in McDonough. Since 2004, she’s been selling produce at the McDonough square farmers market and more recently at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market and Decatur’s Wednesday evening farmers markets.
This past fall was her first season to try growing napa cabbage. “I thought I’d give it a shot and see how it did. I was surprised that it grew so quickly, lots faster than regular cabbage,” she told me. The variety she grew was ‘Tenderheart.’
“We planted two batches In July and August and harvested the first at the end of October and the second at the end of November,” she said.
Not only did the cabbage grow well, it sold well; so well that she didn’t have a chance to cook any of it. But she has plenty of ideas for what to do with napa cabbage. “Shred it like lettuce and use it as a taco topping or for wraps. Lots of our customers say they’ll make kimchi, but you can braise it, use it to make stuffed cabbage and put it into soups,” Bennett said.
The leaves naturally have a cup-like shape, perfect for holding saucy fillings. The juicy thicker stem of the leaves can be cut and used like celery in cooked or raw dishes. The delicate ruffled edges are work well thinly sliced and turned into slaw or added to a salad.
A fresh napa cabbage should keep in your refrigerator, well wrapped, for about 2 weeks. The sooner you enjoy it, the crisper it will be so if you keep it around that long, plan to use the leaves in a cooked dish.
And is it Napa or napa cabbage? If you believe the name comes from the Japanese word “nappa” referring to leaves, then it’s napa cabbage. If you believe the cabbage is named for Napa Valley, California where the plants were first commercially grown in the U.S., then it’s Napa cabbage. I think this is a mystery that may never be solved.
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From local reports
Napa Cabbage Mu Shu Chicken Wraps
Hands on: 20 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Serves: 6
1 medium head Napa cabbage (2 1/2 to 3 pounds)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
4 green onions, thinly sliced, white and green parts divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger, minced
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
Remove root end of cabbage and cut off top two-thirds. Remove 18 outer leaves from the top two-thirds and set aside.
Thinly slice bottom third and remainder of top two-thirds. This should yield about 8 cups of lightly packed sliced cabbage. Set aside.
In a wok or large skillet, heat oil over very high heat. When hot, add chicken pieces and cook until just done, stirring constantly, about 4 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
Add sliced cabbage, mushrooms, onion, white part of green onions, garlic and ginger to hot wok and toss ingredients, cooking until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Combine cornstarch with water and mix to make a smooth paste, then add to cabbage mixture along with hoisin sauce and sesame oil. Stir until sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add chicken and green parts of green onions. Stir to combine.
Serve immediately with reserved cabbage leaves. Use cabbage leaves to wrap chicken filling and eat like burritos.
Per serving: 267 calories (percent of calories from fat, 37), 21 grams protein, 21 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 11 grams fat (1 gram saturated), 45 milligrams cholesterol, 397 milligrams sodium.
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