I just love cabbage cooked in this way because it ends up a little bit soft and a little bit crunchy. It’s also delicious because it has all the comforting vibes of soft rice noodles. I’ve used Savoy (Napa) cabbage here but any white cabbage, including Chinese cabbage will be great.
Asian Beef & Cabbage
Ingredients
- 2 steaks sliced into bite sized strips
- 1/4 cabbage finely sliced
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1-4 red chilli peppers finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons oyster sauce
Instructions
- Heat a wok or large frying pan on a medium high heat. Add a little oil and the steak and stir fry until the steak is browned on the outside but still pink inside.
- Remove steak and place in a clean bowl.
- Return the pan to the heat and reduce it to medium. Add a little more oil and the cabbage. Cook covered, stirring every few minutes until the cabbage is mostly soft but still a bit crunchy in parts.
- Add the chilli and garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Return the beef to the pan with the sauce. Cook until hot. Taste and season with extra oyster sauce or salt, if needed. Serve hot in bowls.
Variations
vegetarian / vegan – replace steak with firm tofu or lentils and use vegetarian oyster sauce (It does exist!).
different meat – lovely with chicken breast or thigh fillets or pork fillet. Also surprisingly great with peeled prawns (shrimp) – if using cooked prawns make sure you only cook enough to warm them up and not overcook.
no oyster sauce – replace with soy sauce or hoisin.
more substantial – serve with steamed rice or toss in cooked rice or hokkien noodles.
ginger – lovely with shredded ginger added with the garlic.
herby – serve with chopped green onions (scallions) or coriander (cilantro) leaves.
more veg – serve with cauliflower rice. Or feel free to add your favourite stir fry veg with the cabbage. Carrots, red capsicum (bell peppers), baby corn, snow peas or bok choy are all good.
different veg – replace cabbage with broccoli, broccolini, asparagus, chinese broccoli, boy choy or brussels sprouts.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
steaks – freeze them.
cabbage – keep wrapped in a plastic bag in the fridge. Will last for weeks.
garlic – keeps in the pantry in a brown paper bag.
red chills – will keep for months in the fridge. Can be frozen or left unwrapped in the fridge they will slowly turn into dried chillies and still be edible.
oyster sauce – unopened bottles keep in the pantry. Once opened will keep in the fridge for months.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
I still find cabbage a bit of a pain, splashed a bit too much water into the pan in an effort to stop the cabbage from burning, and used tofu instead of beef, which despite frying still really didn’t taste of anything (I never did get around to trying that tofu scramble), but added enough garlic (4 cloves), chillies (2 large red ones with seeds and membranes), ginger (powder), oyster (not vegetarian) and hoisin sauce that I wound up with a rather nice, thick, hot tofu and cabbage soup. Good.
Your soups sounds good Mark!
Maybe try a lower heat next time for the cabbage and let it cook a little longer. And tofu needs lots of salt so good call on the oyster + hoisin sauce combo.
I couldn’t find cabbage when I went shopping, so used baby bok choi and capsicum instead, and mushrooms and cashews for the protein. Good.
ooh I haven’t had bok choi in ages Mark – am going to plant some in the garden – thanks for the inspiration!
My second challenge meal. I don’t know if it’s my taste buds or if the dish needs something more than garlic and oyster sauce (I don’t add chilis because we don’t want the heat), but it tasted a bit bland this time. Note that I make this frequently.
If you don’t have the chilli maybe try a squeeze of lemon or lime or some rice vinegar – just a tablespoon or less to give some freshness – and balance the intense salty sweetness of the oyster sauce should do the trick Susan 🙂