Cabbage and Carrots Stir Fry with Rice Noodles
Try this Cabbage and Carrots Stir Fry with Rice Noodles recipe
Try this Cabbage and Carrots Stir Fry with Rice Noodles recipe
- red pepper flakes to taste
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp raw honey or maple syrup
- 4 green onion sprigs finely chopped
- 2 lbs cabbage cut into 2†pieces
- 1 lb carrots thickly sliced
- 3 tbsp toasted sesame oil divided
- 2 †piece ginger grated
- 3 large garlic cloves grated
- 5 tbsp soy sauce (i used bragg’s liquid aminos)
- 9 oz (250 g) package thin brown rice noodles
- boiled water
- Carbohydrate 0.552592196578963 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 13.5080058077362 g
- Fiber 0.033624275929666 g
- Protein 0.101833526011561 g
- Saturated Fat 1.91842503279102 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (292g)
- Sodium 0.594696532045513 mg
- Sugar 0.518967920649297 g
- Trans Fat 0.596417746869872 g
- Calories 122 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat dutch oven or large skillet on medium heat and swirl 2 tbsp of sesame oil to coat.
- Add ginger and garlic; sauté for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add cabbage and carrots, stir; cover and cook for 6 minutes, stirring once.
- In the meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine soy sauce, maple syrup, water, rice vinegar; whisk with a fork and set aside.
- Also place brown rice noodles in a bowl with boiled water for 3 minutes.
- Using kitchen scissors cut noodles right in the bowl.
- Drain and set aside.
- Pour sauce over cabbage and carrots; add noodles.
- Stir everything well.
- Top with remaining 1 tbsp sesame seed oil, green onions and red pepper flakes (if you wish).
- A few more stirs and serve hot.
Adding dense vegetables and dry noodles to a hot pan all at once produces uneven texture and scorched aromatics. Garlic and ginger burn within seconds if exposed to high heat without sufficient moisture or fat, turning bitter and acrid. Grating these aromatics maximizes their surface area, releasing essential oils rapidly into the two tablespoons of toasted sesame oil. Sautéing them for precisely thirty seconds cooks out the harsh raw bite while keeping the pan below the smoke point.
Covering the Dutch oven after adding the cabbage and carrots traps steam, allowing the two-pound mass of dense roots and leaves to soften efficiently in six minutes. Thickly sliced carrots require this thermal insulation to cook through without burning on the bottom of the vessel. Meanwhile, soaking thin brown rice noodles in boiling water for three minutes rehydrates them just enough to finish absorbing flavors in the pan without turning to mush. Cutting the noodles directly in the bowl with kitchen scissors prevents long, tangled strands that complicate even distribution.
Stirring the soy sauce, maple syrup, water, and rice vinegar together before adding them to the skillet ensures the starches and sugars disperse uniformly over the vegetables. Pouring this liquid directly onto the hot cabbage creates an immediate glaze as the excess water evaporates. The final tablespoon of sesame oil added at the end provides a fresh aromatic finish that would otherwise dissipate if heated throughout the cooking process.
Prepared rice noodles and brassicas absorb moisture continuously during refrigeration, meaning leftovers lose their desired structural integrity after forty-eight hours. Freezing is not recommended because the cell walls of cooked cabbage break down entirely upon thawing, releasing trapped water and leaving a spongy, unappealing texture. Reheat portions gently in a skillet over medium-low heat with a single teaspoon of water to restore the glossy sauce without overcooking the noodles.
