Oil Free Asian Sour Napa Cabbage Stir Fry! With its speedy sauté and crisp-tender napa, this dish shines as a healthy weeknight option that sings with authentic Chinese vinegar nuance, making it a standout dish.
This Oil Free Asian Sour Napa Cabbage Stir Fry is a breezy Chinese-inspired dish that highlights the bright, punchy-sweet-sour notes of Chinese Black Rice Vinegar. Quick to the pan, this stir fry preserves the napa cabbage’s crisp bite and delicate leafy texture, delivering a light, silky coating without oil. The vinegar’s tangy backbone mingles with a hint of sweetness, creating a balanced flavor profile that’s both refreshing and comforting.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
This Asian dish comes together in a flash, delivering light, tasty flavors that feel bright and satisfying. The napa cabbage stays vibrant and crisp, while the subtle seasoning lets the Chinese Black Rice Vinegar take center stage, giving just the right amount of tangy-sour without overpowering the dish.
We loved its clean, approachable taste and easy prep, making it the kind of recipe you’ll reach for again. You gotta give this one a try for a quick, flavorful weeknight that totally effortless.
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This Oil-Free Napa Cabbage Stir Fry is an easy Chinese dish that showcases the unique flavor of Chinese Black Rice Vinegar with its punchy-sweet and sour influence. This dish is sauteed quickly retaining much of the integrity and crunchiness of the Napa cabbage. The flavors are light and subtle but distinctly sour with a hint of sweetness.
- Sweet and Sour: If you want more sour, then use less maple syrup. If you enjoy more sweetness, then use the full 2 Tablespoons.
- Napa Cabbage: Napa Cabbage works perfect in stir fry dishes as it cooks quickly, and the crunchiness is not as dense as a regular cabbage.
- Napa Cabbage Water Content: Napa cabbage has a very high-water content, 96%. Because is has such a high-water content, it is important to cook it quickly with a high temperature before it can release a lot of its water into the dish, thereby watering down and dulling the flavor of the sauce.
- Napa Cabbage Substitutions: This recipe was designed to use Napa cabbage. We do not recommend regular cabbage as a substitution.
- Black Rice Vinegar Substitutions: There really isn’t a great substitution for Black Rice Vinegar since it has an unique flavor; however, the closest substitution is a 1:1 ratio of Balsamic Vinegar and Rice Vinegar. In other words, this recipe calls for 2 Tablespoons of black rice vinegar, so you would use 1 Tablespoon of rice vinegar and 1 Tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 5 days in the refrigerator. Store in a covered air-tight container.
This soup freezes well.
Pantry Products:
- Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients. Feel free to use your favorite vegetable broth.
- Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce, Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium. You can substitute the tamari with reduced sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Braggs Coconut Liquid Aminos. We recommend using reduced-sodium products.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Large skillet
If you try this tasty dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
Print
Oil Free Asian Sour Napa Cabbage Stir Fry
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 5 Minutes
- Total Time: 25 Minutes
- Yield: 2-3 Servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Oil Free Asian Sour Napa Cabbage Stir Fry is a breezy Chinese-inspired dish that highlights the bright, punchy-sweet-sour notes of Chinese Black Rice Vinegar.
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- 2 lbs. sliced Napa Cabbage, divided *
- 1 medium carrot, julienned
- 1/3 cup water
Dressing Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons [Chinkiang] Chinese black vinegar *
- 2 Tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari *
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup (+/-)
- 1 teaspoon tahini
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic (+/-)
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger (+/-)
- Pinch to ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (+/-)
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch (or arrowroot powder)
Other Ingredients:
- 6 to 8 green onions, sliced
- 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- Sprinkle sea salt (finishing)
Instructions
- Begin by discarding any damaged outer leaves of the Napa cabbage. The thicker white portions of the cabbage cut at a 45-degree angle into 1-inch pieces and place in a bowl. Cut the green portion of the cabbage into 2-inch pieces, and place in a separate bowl. Set aside.
- Place all the Dressing Ingredients into a small bowl, whisk to combine, set aside.
- In a large skillet, (preheating the skillet to high heat) place all the Base Ingredients, [the thicker white napa cabbage pieces only] and carrots with 1/3 cup water, sauté while stirring constantly over high heat for 3 minutes. Watch the water carefully, you don’t want a lot of water, but you don’t want the pan to burn.
- Then throw in the green pieces of napa cabbage and the Dressing Mix, stirring constantly, sauté for 2 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Allow to sit for several minutes to allow the cabbage to soak up the liquids.
- Sprinkle individual servings with sea salt, more toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions.
Notes
Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Products Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Equipment Used.
Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Servings: 2 to 3
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
Leave a Reply