Steamed cabbage is delicious and easy to make an excellent alternative source of fiber. It also is a great foundation to increase your daily intake of calcium, potassium, and manganese. Cabbage is plentiful with vitamins and only contains around 25 calories. It is prominently known for its antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents.
What is Steamed Cabbage?
Steamed cabbage is a great way to lose weight if eaten in proportions and not overly seasoned. It has an extreme surplus amount of water, and that is an excellent dietary supplement to help you lose that extra weight you want to get off. Also, you can easily make hot cabbage soup by using a glass blender. If you are not trying to lose weight, eating steamed cabbage helps with living a healthier lifestyle on a more natural and daily basis.
You will have your friends and family wondering how you gracefully put this dish together as they are devouring it at the dinner table. Besides, you will be able to remember how to make steamed cabbage for future use. Therefore, let us start getting down to the tasty product of steamed cabbage, and by the end of this tutorial, you will be proud you learned the easiest and fastest way how to cook cabbage.
The Benefits of Steamed Cabbage
The benefits are enormous with cabbage, but how can you eat this great vegetable that would be simple to make?
There are many ways to make cabbage, but the fastest and most natural way to cook cabbage would be to steam it. Therefore, how can you steam cabbage to make a variety of meals? We took this question and reviewed the best and fastest way to make steamed cabbage efficiently. We wanted you to have the clarity to make steamed cabbage fast and accurate for your home and future meals.
We also wanted to make sure you had a simple tutorial to follow, so you will not have to drive yourself mad with finding the “perfect recipe.” We wanted you to have once place to discover how to steam cabbage, all while making it as simple as possible. You will obtain a clear-cut tutorial that will allow you to reap the benefits of steamed cabbage, and to top that off, you will also have the ability to incorporate your creativity into what your dish will need to be a success.
What You Will Need to Follow This Tutorial
There are a few different ingredients that you will need, and we have provided a few to you below to follow to start your steamed cabbage dish. In the end, you will have the chance to incorporate any extra ingredients to make the recipe your own entirely. On the other hand, you can leave it as it is and serve the steamed cabbage with just these few ingredients. It will be just as tasty.
Recipe One: The Simplest
What you will need:
- 1 Head of Cabbage
- Water
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Butter or olive oil
- Apple Cider or vinegar
Recipe Two: For the bacon lovers
What you will need:
- 1 Head of Cabbage
- Bacon Grease (1-2 tablespoons)
- Butter (2-3 teaspoons)
- Water ( 1/3rd to 1/2 cup)
- Sugar (2 to 3 teaspoons)
- Chopped Bacon
- Black Pepper
Recipe Three: For a Southern Style
What you will need:
- 1 Head of Cabbage
- Butter (2-3 teaspoons)
- Onion (1/2 cut and minced)
- Garlic (1/2 teaspoon, minced)
- Chicken Broth (2 cups)
- 1 Turkey Leg (fully cooked leg)
- Salt
- Pepper
Recipe Four: A Professional Chef
What you will need:
- 1 Head of Cabbage (Try growing your own, instead of store-bought, find one that is unblemishedly rinsed and pat dry, cut into slices if desired)
- Water (Large pot)
- Sea Salt (1/2 teaspoon)
- Olive Oil (only a drizzle)
- Pepper (sprinkle for a slight taste increase)
There are many recipes that you can follow, but the top three are by far the simplest and fastest to make for your dinner table. They are three different ones to follow for those that love to have a different style. Steamed cabbage can be made in so many ways, so if you use the first recipe, which will be the easiest way to make steamed cabbage and then after it is done, you will have the ability to add any additional ingredients you desire to brighten up the this to your taste.
The second and third recipes are fast and efficient, but they show you a few different ideas of what you can do with steamed cabbage.
The fourth recipe is one that professional cooks use, but before you try this recipe, it is usually recommended to try the first one to get the idea of the process before you go into the big league. There are a few extra steps in preparation for the fourth recipe, and there are ideas on how to pick the perfect cabbage for each dish, but we wanted to simplify it as much as possible to get you as close to the top chefs as you can.
How To Steam Cabbage: Step-By-Step Instructions
In this section, we will take you through a systematic tutorial on how to get your cabbage steamed the best way. You can incorporate any additional ingredients that are within the recipes during or after this process. However, there is usually one essential way to steam cabbage, and how you alter it is up to you to get the desired taste that you seek after.
Rinse Cabbage
The first thing you need to do is properly clean your cabbage, so make sure you rinse the cabbage off in the sink and set to dry. The pros express that if you pat dry the cabbage, it helps the cabbage cook more thorough. Also, it helps keep the texture that we all love cabbage has. After you have rinsed and dried the cabbage, remove off any bruised sections. The cabbage leaves should fit tight around the head with no loose leaves. There should not be any tarnished leaves left before you are going to steam the cabbage.
Cut Cabbage
If your recipe calls for your cabbage to be cut, this is where you will do that. Cut the cabbage into the desired slices and set aside. On the other hand, if you are using a basic recipe, cut your cabbage into four sections. Alternatively, four wedges would be ideal. You can also use a slicer to string the cabbage into smaller pieces to utilize for alternative recipes.
Cutting the cabbage will help it cook faster and give it the ability to retain the taste. Be careful handling the knife as you cut the cabbage. So hold the cabbage still with one hand and slowly with the knifes tip touching the counter, cut one graceful extended cut, and avoid your fingers. When you cut the cabbage into the four wedges, note if there are any bugs or discolored leaves to cut away the damaged areas, or you can soak the cabbage for around fifteen to twenty minutes in salted water, then after cut the damaged areas out before the next step. On another note, before continuing to the next step, place your knife in a safe location, so you do not accidentally knock it off the counter or cut yourself in your transition. Some pros talk about removing the core of the cabbage, but others mention to leave it for a more intense flavoring. Please note that it could take a little longer to cook if the core is gone, but the result will still be fantastic. Since you already cut the cabbage into the correct slices, you can rinse it one more time before the next step. Set it in the bowl to dry, or you can pat dry before the steaming process.
Steam Cabbage
This step can be done a few different ways. You can use a steamer that will only take around 6-12 min, flipping the cabbage for half time. On the other hand, you can fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Usually, you can make sure the container is a fourth full of water, but there can be a little less if it is not exact. You can then add any salt and pepper ingredients at this time to get your water flavored. Just note you do not want to over salt this step,
If you are planning to add extra salt at the end of the steaming process, please have caution with the boiling water; we do not want you to get burns, or accidentally spill it. After the water is boiling, you can add the wedges and cover boiling the cabbage for around eight to ten minutes. On the other hand, until tender.
Please note that when you add the cabbage to the water to use large metal or wooden spoon to slowly place them in the water to avoid spills or splatters. You can then turn the cabbage, and sometimes people drain a little water. But usually, you want to turn the stove on low heat and let the cabbage sit for around eight more minutes. Additionally, if you like hot cabbage soup, you can easily make by using a glass blender. But let’s stick with the plan.
Drain Cabbage
In this step, you will drain the water from your pot and set the cabbage in a large bowl. You can use a filter that is used for spaghetti noodles, or if you have a metal strainer with more refined holes, that can also be used in this step. If you choose to use either of these options, make sure you cover the cabbage as you drain and be careful of the steam that releases from the pot. It can get hot, so if it helps to use an oven glove or remove slowly to avoid any accidents. After it is drained, you can rinse it with cold water as some of the pros do and then spread the leaves out to maximize the flavoring process. Just be careful, as it can still be hot.
Add butter, and additional seasoning.
After your cabbage is drained completely, be careful, this can be hot from the steam, but add your butter, salts, pepper, cooked bacon, etc. to the dish. Moreover, let the cabbage sit for two minutes. You can also break apart the cabbage to get the flavor into each section for more tasty results. The pros use numerous style of seasoning.
Some use this step to add bacon or turkey legs to increase the flavor. Nevertheless, even if you only use a sprinkle of sea salt and ground pepper, it will hold just as much nutritional value and taste just as high. After you season your cabbage, cover it with a lid for a few minutes. So the cabbage gets a chance to soak up the seasonings.
Serve
You are now at the last step, and you can set your dish on the counter for all to see, or you can divvy it up to make sure everyone gets a taste of the steamed cabbage you have just prepared for their pallets. You will want to serve it hot, as that will be the best texture for steamed cabbage. You can put the cabbage in a bowl or a serving dish using tongs or a large spoon, be aware not to drop it, preventing accidents or loss of product.
The scent of the cabbage will make everyone’s mouth start watering. Steamed cabbage is unique to add to a variety of meals, and even children love the way cooked cabbage taste. There are mentions of some pros pulling the cabbage out of the steamer and setting it on a paper towel before serving, but this is not necessary, just a quick tip.
Conclusion
After completing the steps above, you have now successfully created and cooked your own steamed cabbage. Just remember that you can overeat cabbage, so no matter how fantastic your product turned out, which I am sure it did, to eat it within reason. Too much cabbage can lead to having a blockage in your intestines.
However, if you eat it within reason, then you can continue to be creative with different ideas around your kitchen and with different ingredients that you want to add. It will all taste wonderful if the steamed cabbage is cooked correctly and long enough as well as not over seasoned. Just remember to have fun; steamed cabbage is a tasty treat to give your family.