A Chinese cabbage is a very large cabbage that you should not actually cook. You can eat it the same way you would eat lettuce. It is also delicious stir-fried. As a raw lettuce leaf, the Chinese cabbage can be combined well with other lettuce leaves. This type of cabbage is so called because it comes from China, but nowadays it is also grown in Dutch greenhouses. It has a white color in the center and is light green on the outside. The light color is quite unique. This vegetable is therefore a nice colorful addition to a vegetable mix or salad. NB! This article is written from the personal view of the author and may contain information that is not scientifically substantiated and/or in line with the general view.

Contents:

• Vitamins in Chinese cabbage
• Minerals Chinese cabbage
• Traditionally cured with Chinese cabbage
• Chinese cabbage prevents diseases
• Cancer and Chinese cabbage
• Cabbage from China
• Eating tips Chinese cabbage
• Storage time Chinese cabbage
• Inner and outer leaves

Vitamins in Chinese cabbage

Chinese cabbage is very healthy and good for the entire immune system. It contains many vitamins. 100 grams of Chinese cabbage contains 45% of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of vitamin C. It also contains plenty of vitamin K; 100 grams contains 38% of the RDA. It also contains a lot of folic acid (20% DV), also called vitamin B11, pirydoxine or B6 (18% DV), vitamin A (11% DV) and vitamin B2 or riboflavin (4% DV). It contains more different vitamins, but all less than 3% of the RDA.

Minerals Chinese cabbage

Chinese cabbage contains relatively much calcium and manganese. Of both minerals, it contains 8% of the RDA per ounce. It also contains potassium (5% DV), iron (4% DV), phosphorus (4% DV) and magnesium (3% DV). That may not seem like much, but 100 grams is not very much and potatoes or rice and the other vegetables you eat also contain minerals. Moreover, the RDA applies for the entire day, i.e. for three meals.

Traditionally cured with Chinese cabbage

In Chinese medicine, the sprouts of Chinese cabbage are eaten to cure gastritis. Gastritis is an inflammation of the stomach that leads to heartburn. In this form of medicine, Chinese cabbage is among the refreshing vegetables that also include peppers, Brussels sprouts, dandelion leaves, endive, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, zucchini and eggplant. In Chinese medicine, the refreshing vegetables are preferably eaten in summer.

Chinese cabbage prevents diseases

Chinese cabbage contains many phytonutrients. For example, it contains the polyphenols anthocyanins. Together with the high vitamin C and vitamin A content, these provide an anti-inflammatory effect. This causes all body cells to function better and prevent diseases, especially the well-known lifestyle diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity.

Cancer and Chinese cabbage

Several studies show that cancer is prevented by eating cabbage. The group of nutrients responsible for this are the glucosinolates. Each glucosinolate has a slightly different effect, but in general it has been scientifically established that eating Chinese cabbage works well against breast cancer, bladder cancer, colon cancer and prostate cancer.

Cabbage from China

The taste of Chinese cabbage is a bit like pak choi. Just like pak choi, Chinese cabbage has wide white veins that form the crispy part of the cabbage. In English-speaking countries, bok choy and Chinese cabbage are both called Chinese cabbage because China is the country of origin. Chinese cabbage is also called nappa cabbage in the US, nappa is a Japanese word and means vegetable leaf. There are two types of Chinese cabbage, the Cantonner whitehead and the Japanese hybrids. Chinese cabbage ended up in Japan after the Sino-Japanese (1937-1945) war in China. The Japanese subsequently introduced the cabbage species to their homeland.

Eating tips Chinese cabbage

Chinese cabbage tastes nice and fresh raw and can be mixed excellently with lettuce such as romaine lettuce or iceberg lettuce. It is a good vegetable to stir-fry with brown rice. Because this type of cabbage is also good to eat raw, it only needs to be briefly steamed or blanched. In contrast to cooking, blanching ensures that the color, crispiness, taste, aroma and nutritional value are better preserved. Stir-frying vegetables generally does not take very long; three minutes at most. A raw leaf of Chinese cabbage can easily be placed on a sandwich under a slice of Dutch cheese. For variation, you can also cut the cabbage into small pieces on your plate and then top it with warm rice; you then have rice with crispy pieces of uncooked vegetables.Source: Drab Makyo, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0)

Storage time Chinese cabbage

You can store Chinese cabbage for a very long time. It stays good in and out of the refrigerator for about 2 weeks. It is a large cabbage that you usually never finish in one sitting. It is rarely used as a main vegetable. Chinese cabbage is often used in vegetable mixes. You can also cook the cabbage, but then it will shrink quickly. Then it is good to use more. However, cooked Chinese cabbage is not particularly tasty. It is delicious as a frying vegetable in combination with fried mushrooms, bell pepper, onion, garlic and soy sauce.

Inner and outer leaves

When you pick the cabbage leaf by leaf, you get closer to the tender young, small leaves. These leaves are slightly more suitable for a salad than the firm outer leaves. The outer leaves are used more in traditional Asian cuisine as soup vegetables and the small leaves as salad vegetables. You could also serve the small leaves as snack vegetables.