Looking for an easy vegetable stir fry recipe? Then you have to try my delicious cabbage stir fry. This cabbage recipe is one of the easiest ones you’ll ever find. It requires only oil, garlic, cabbage and soy sauce and takes just about 15 minutes to make. The perfect midweek dinner!
AN EASY CABBAGE RECIPE
How many times have you opened your fridge to find just cabbage left and ended up ordering food or actually going out to eat? If your answer is many, you clearly need this simple four-ingredient cabbage stir fry in your life.
This stir fried cabbage is perfect for busy people or busy moms. In fact, along with the Thai-style omelet (kai jeow), it was one of my mom’s go-to dishes for our breakfast when my siblings and I were kids because it was so easy to prepare and we loved it (imagine a mom of three trying to move from one chore to another). As long as my mom remembered to buy cabbage, this stuff would fly off the pan in a mere 15 minutes since oil, garlic and soy sauce are already basic ingredients in every Thai kitchen.
A HEALTHY ASIAN VEGGIE STIR FRY
Apart from being really easy to make, this cabbage stir fry is also pretty healthy. It’s got just the right amount of oil and soy sauce so it’s not one of those super greasy or salty stir fries.
As we’re not using any animal products in this cabbage stir fry, it is indeed vegan and vegetarian. Why do I feel the need to mention that this vegetable stir fry is vegan and vegetarian when clearly it’s mostly just cabbage? Because a lot of Thais actually use fish sauce in this dish. To be honest, I use both interchangeably but I wanted to make sure that all the beautiful vegan and vegetarian home cooks out there can enjoy this easy recipe too. So feel free to use either if you don’t have any diet restrictions.
CAN I ADD MEAT TO THIS CABBAGE STIR FRY?
Of course! If you do eat meat in your diet and you want to add some protein to your meal or make it more substantial, you can definitely add meat. When it comes to this dish, chicken, pork and bacon seem to be the popular choices. So feel free to use any of those.
WHAT TO EAT WITH CABBAGE STIR FRY?
Steamed rice! This garlicky cabbage stir fry is soooo good with rice. I’ve had it with plain rice porridge and it’s good too. But it’s definitely more filling and (I think) more delicious with steamed rice. Plus, steamed rice is quicker for a midweek dinner.
Just remember to cook your rice before you start cooking the stir fry so they’re ready right around the same time. And you might want to enjoy it with prik nam pla – a quick and easy Thai table condiment that will boost the flavor of this dish.
CAN YOU COOK CABBAGE STIR FRY AHEAD OF TIME AND REHEAT?
While this dish is best enjoyed fresh off the pan, you can certainly cook it ahead of time and reheat. If you’re on a busy schedule, you may want to cook more than you need for dinner and have the leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day. Sure, the cabbage will look kinda sad but it will still be delicious and totally safe to eat. I personally don’t recommend you go over day 3, though. It just won’t taste as good then.
IF YOU LIKE MY EASY CABBAGE STIR FRY…
…then you might also like:
- Thai Stir-Fried Morning Glory | Pad Pak Boong
- Bean Sprouts Stir-Fried with Tofu
- Stir Fried Yardlong Beans with Bacon
- Thai Stir Fried Water Mimosa with Chicken
Easy Cabbage Stir Fry Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 head medium cabbage chopped
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
Instructions
- Rinse the cabbage and cut it in half. Remove the core and then chop.
- Peel the garlic and chop until fine.
- Drizzle ½ tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil into a frying pan and add the garlic. Once the garlic is fragrant, add the cabbage. Stir fry on a medium heat for 3 minutes or until the cabbage has wilted.
- Add the soy sauce and toss together. Turn off the heat and serve with rice.