Chicken Cabbage Stir Fry Recipe

TL;DR

One night I was about to cook a chicken chow mein. I had prepared and cut all the fresh ingredients when I realized I was out of Chinese egg noodles (aka Low Mein noodles).

I decided to move on anyway because let's face it, you have to eat when you are hungry!

So, I prepared a chicken cabbage stir-fry, but with carrots. The result was alright, the carrots were too much of the good.

I skipped the carrots the next time when I prepared them again, and that is how this quick chicken cabbage stir-fry came to be.

Ingredients

The chicken and cabbage meal is low in carbs, gluten-free, and includes wholesome ingredients.

You can switch some ingredients to your liking if you prefer, as I share how you can substitute them effectively.

• Chicken — Boneless chicken breast or thighs. Consider, breast pieces are easier to use, but boneless chicken thighs are more flavorful and don't dry out that easily during the cooking process. Besides, you can get A-grad anti-biotic-free chicken, which is usually easier to cook (doesn't turn that chewy). Cut the chicken into lengthy bite-sized thin strips.
• Cabbage — Use any cabbage variety from your fridge. That can be the regular globally most common cabbage head, green or purple, or it can also be a Chinese cabbage variety such as Napa Cabbage.
• Ginger Garlic — Use a ground ginger garlic mixed paste or finely chopped or grated ginger and garlic. The ginger lends the dish a warm Asian spicy taste, and the garlic compliments these flavors.
• Green Onions — Aka spring onions. You can use scallions too. Separate the bulb from the stalks and use the sliced stalks as a garnish to add a green, fresh touch to your meal.
• Oil — I like to use vegetable oil or any other neutral flavored oil that can take high heat, such as sunflower oil or canola oil.
• Soy Sauce — I use regular thin soy sauce such as Kikkoman, but you can use other soy sauce types too, such as Chinese soy sauce, Thai mushroom soy sauce or traditional Thai soy sauce. The soy sauce is added while you sauté the cabbage and chicken. It adds umami flavor and a salty touch to the meal, and therefore you don't need to salt your dish.
• Sesame Seeds — I like to just sprinkle some sesame seeds, black and white, over my meal. That is, to give it an Asian touch altogether and great aesthetics! You can also simply sprinkle some sesame oil over the meal.
• Red Pepper Flakes — Optional, aka Red Chili Flakes. The pepper flakes add some heat and are great as a red topping. It's visually appealing, and this is why I add it as a garnish at the end.

Tip: Regular cabbage needs to cook longer because it's thicker. That's why a small quantity of water is added to cook through the cabbage. If you intend to use napa cabbage (Chinese cabbage), you don't need to add water to it because it's much more delicate and cooks through fast enough.

How to make it?

Prepare this cabbage chicken stir-fry tonight by following the process steps.

The Recipe card with ingredient and instruction details can be found further below.

Step 1

Keep your ingredients cut and ready.

In a pan, stir cook sliced green onion bulb and ginger and garlic.

Add the cabbage and sauté until it has reduced in size in the pan.

Step 2

Pour the soy sauce and water over the cabbage (you don't need water if you are using napa cabbage) in the pan and stir cook over high heat until the cabbage is semi cooked through, and the liquids have somewhat dissolved.

Step 3

Make space in the center of the pan and add in the chicken strips.

Place cabbage over chicken and cook like that for a minute over a medium-high heat setting.

Stir cook and mix on high heat so that the chicken gets cooked on all sides quickly.

Step 4

Garnish with sesame seed or sesame oil, red pepper flakes for some heat, and with sliced green onion chalks.

Flavor variations

You can experiment with this recipe by adding or changing some ingredients, just like I did.

The most notable change was the use of turkey meat strips instead of chicken. I strongly recommend you try that too.

If you like ground chicken or ground turkey, you can try switched meats in this recipe.

I also tried using red cabbage instead of napa cabbage and the result was great too because you also eat with your eyes.

Additional vegetables that you need to use up can be added, as in bell pepper, bok choy, mushrooms and shredded carrots, but it will change the basic flavor of my recipe.

Another time I threw in some fish sauce, besides soy sauce, and that was another winner in my book.

For a curried chicken cabbage stir-fry, add a teaspoon of yellow curry powder during the stir-fry process.

If you like it hot, you may want to drizzle, as a topping, some hot chili oil over your cabbage and chicken. I can also recommend sprinkling some sweetness over your dish with a Thai sweet chili sauce.

Serving

The simplest, hassle-free way to enjoy this meal is with a bowl of cooked or steamed rice.

Honestly, I usually serve it up for us with bread, as in a bread roll or a loaf of bread.

If you want to keep it light, add a small Asian side dish salad to your dinner.

The meal is good on its own, and you don't need to add a side dish to go with it.

Storing

Keep leftovers in an airtight container. I use rectangular glass storage boxes which come with clip lids or bamboo lids. You get those in IKEA, for example.

Glass containers are great because you can easily stack them in your fridge, which saves space, and which in turn helps in seeing your food (so that you don't forget about it).

To reheat, place the chicken veggie leftovers in the glass container and without lid into your oven or microwave and gradually reheat at a lower temperature.

In the oven, my preferred method, heat your meal at 280 Fahrenheit (140 degree Celsius) at most for about 5–10 minutes, depending on the quantity of your leftovers.