Steamed Napa Cabbage Rolls with Pork and Mushrooms

Filling

1. Prepare the rice and pork: cook the rice ahead of time until done and let it cool. Remove the bones and sinews from the pork and grind it into mince in a meat grinder.

   

2. Fry the mushrooms with the onion: heat vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat and fry the finely chopped onion in it until golden. Chop the mushrooms finely and add them to the fried onion. Stirring constantly, fry the mushrooms until they start to lose moisture and turn light brown.

   

3. Mix the filling: in a large bowl, combine the ground pork, the cooked and cooled rice and the mushrooms fried with the onion. Add a pinch of salt, black pepper and chili, as heat is welcome in this dish. For the best result, add the Chinese five-spice powder wu xiang mian – it is easy to make at home. Or at least add a clove crushed in a mortar, 1 clove.

   

   Knead the filling until smooth. It is dense enough that it does not fall apart when shaped into a ball. This lets you form the rolls by wrapping a leaf around the filling without sealing it. The filling will be denser if it has not warmed up, so put the bowl in the refrigerator while you prepare the leaves.

   

Leaves and shaping

4. Prepare the leaves: boil a kettle and get a large deep bowl ready. Remove 8-10 outer leaves from the head of napa cabbage. If a leaf is torn, it is better not to use it. Cut off the thick part of the leaf, 4-5 cm. If possible, thin the thick white part with a knife, which makes the rolls easier to shape. Put the leaves in the bowl and cover with boiling water. After 2-3 mins, rinse the leaves with cold water and put them on a plate so the water drains off.

   

5. Shape the rolls: divide all the filling into portions, one per prepared leaf. Shape a portion of filling into an elongated “sausage” about as long as the leaf is wide at its widest part. Lay the filling on the narrow white part of the leaf and wrap the leaf around it fairly tightly. Shape all the rolls this way.

   

Steaming

6. Arrange the rolls in the steamer: line the bottom of the baskets with a cloth and lay the rolls on it. Pour water into a pot and bring it to a boil. The water must not reach the bottom of the basket. Then set the steamer baskets on the pot.

   

7. Steam the rolls for about 12 mins with the water boiling steadily over medium heat. That is enough for the pork in the filling to steam through completely.

   

Sauce

8. While the rolls are cooking, make the sauce: mix 4 tbsp of light soy sauce, 1 tbsp of “black” Chinese vinegar (you can replace it with balsamic), a finely grated piece of ginger, 2-4 crushed garlic cloves, 0.5 tsp of sugar (2 g) and hot pepper to taste. If you like, add finely chopped fresh chili and a green onion stalk. Add boiled water so the sauce is not too thick.

Serving

9. Put 2-3 finished rolls on a plate per serving. Be careful: the steam is very hot and can burn you, so open the steamer and move the rolls with care. Put a small bowl on the plate and pour the sauce into it.

   

   That is all, and the dish is ready to serve. Dishes like this are usually eaten with chopsticks, but you can use a fork. Dip the rolls in the sauce and enjoy.

   If pork is not acceptable to you, you can use poultry in the filling. In principle, you can make the dish vegetarian by increasing the amount of mushrooms in the filling and leaving out the meat.