Spicy minced pork with chunky stir-fried cabbage is an easy and hugely satisfying dish, redolent of both Polish cabbage rolls as well as Asian stir-fry flavours.
Polish peasant food?
This is a dish after my own heart. After a fashion, it is a fusion of Eastern European peasant food, wherein are my roots, and Asian spiciness, which is my favourite flavour palette.
Cabbage and pork is as Polish a staple as it takes, to the point of being canonical. Imagine an emblematic Polish dish and, unless it’s pierogi, it will invariably feature cabbage and/or pork. And there’s nothing wrong with either, as it happens: lean pork is almost as healthy as chicken, and cabbage is Fibre Central.
And if you think about it, the combo very much resembles golabki, Polish cabbage rolls stuffed with a mixture of minced pork and rice. So if you serve this with rice, it will be deconstructed golabki, spot on!
Not just another stir-fry
But Polish roots notwithstanding, this might seem like just another stir-fry that requires a wok. That tends to put off a lot of people: not everyone is wok-proficient or actually owns one.
But this is actually just as easy to cook in a large frying or sauté pan, if not altogether easier. So wok worries aside, you can approach the recipe like you would any meat plus vegetable casserole. In fact it starts its journey on the hob in a familiar way to a ragù or chilli: browning the mince.
Cooking and seasoning pork mince
Pork mince, or ground pork as it’s known over the ocean, should have a reasonable fat content. Otherwise meatballs might not hold together, ragù won’t be smooth and meatloaf will be dry and crumbly.
Mince sold in supermarkets is sometimes proudly labelled ‘extra lean’ which is not what we want when cooking the above dishes. This one however calls for lean meat so the pork crumbs are crisp and the cabbage doesn’t end up swimming in fat, so you’re good shopping in a supermarket for it.
But even lean pork mince doesn’t need adding any fat to cooking, so you can start it off in a cold pan. Cook it over medium-high heat so it browns rather than steams. If some water is released, keep cooking and breaking meat up with a fork or a spatula, until the liquid evaporates and the pork starts browning.
Once it starts colouring, you can add the aromatics: spring onions and garlic, as well as the seasoning of salt, pepper and chilli flakes, as much or as little as you like.
When the meat colours further, add the chilli or harissa paste and the sauces, drizzling them around the rim of the pan so their flavours intensify.
The meat should cook some more with the sauces, until it smells delicious, turns deep dark brown and tastes intensely savoury.
Cabbage goes in
The best cabbage variety for this dish, and my personal favourite, is sweetheart, aka pointed or hispi. I like to chop it into rough squares rather than shred it, so once it’s cored, cut it into slim wedges, then each wedge across. Unless you fancy leaving it in long strips, in which case just separate the leaves.
Once the cabbage goes into the pan, and it might need to be done in batches, it needs to be turned and tossed with the meat using tongs. Then it’s just the matter of minutes before it wilts and softens enough to be tender, but still with a bite.
It’s nice with rice, but possibly even better with mashed potatoes, for another nod towards East European combinations. And you can sprinkle it with furikake, Japanese sesame and nori seasoning, to complete the fusion.
More cabbage recipes
Looking for a delicious and healthy vegetarian dish? Try my cabbage and walnut casserole recipe! Baked with a savoury mixture of onions, spices and herbs, this Ottolenghi-inspired comfort food is perfect for any occasion.
Cabbage lasagne, a vegetarian dish of pasta layered with a filling of lightly cooked cabbage with tomatoes is surprisingly flavourful and delicious!
Kalpudding, Swedish brown cabbage meatloaf, served with boiled or mashed potatoes and a sweet and spicy preserve, is best homemade – and one more reason NOT to go to IKEA!
More pork mince recipes
Thai pork with chilli and basil, pad ka-prao moo, spicy and fragrant, is Thai classic street food and unbelievably easy to make at home. It will be delicious even if you don’t find holy basil this dish is named after – and it’s not the same as Thai basil!
Crispy pork mince, kidney beans and Romaine lettuce salad with mixed toasted seeds. Caramelised pork crumbs are the best thing after crispy bacon!
Cabbage rolls stuffed with a pork mince and rice filling, baked in simple tomato sauce – that’s Polish golabki, the ultimate comfort dish. Also, the best use of the outer cabbage leaves.