Gingery Cabbage Rolls With Pork and Rice

By Sue Li

Updated June 23, 2025

Gingery Cabbage Rolls With Pork and Rice
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
1¼ hours
Rating
5(1,969)
Comments
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These fork-tender cabbage rolls, filled with savory pork, rice and ginger, are the ultimate comfort food — perfect to serve as a cozy meal on a cold night. When assembling the rolls, you can simply fold the cabbage leaf onto itself as you would fold a burrito — and don’t worry if the cabbage leaves tear. If there are any leftovers, reheat them with more chicken broth. They are good the day they are made, but even better the next day.

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Ingredients

Yield:12 cabbage rolls (4 to 6 servings)
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 1medium head savoy cabbage
  • 1½pounds ground pork
  • ⅓cup uncooked short-grain white rice
  • 1large egg, lightly beaten
  • 6scallions, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 2tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger (from a 2-inch piece)
  • 2tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2cups chicken broth
  • Sesame oil, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

420 calories; 28 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 24 grams protein; 639 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season with salt.

  2. Step 2

    Prepare the cabbage: Remove about 12 large outer leaves, reserving the rest of the cabbage for another use. Once the water boils, lower the heat to medium so that the water reaches a gentle boil. Add the cabbage leaves, about 4 at a time, and cook until tender and flexible but leaves remain intact and maintain their crunch, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a towel-lined plate and set aside to cool slightly while you make the filling. Repeat with remaining cabbage leaves.

  3. Step 3

    Prepare the filling: In a large bowl, combine pork, rice, egg, scallions, ginger and soy sauce with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.

  4. Step 4

    Assemble the cabbage rolls: Working with one cooked cabbage leaf at a time, place it on a cutting board or other flat surface with its stem end at the bottom. Spoon a heaping ¼ cup of the pork mixture in the center and mold the mixture into a rough 2- to 3-inch log. Pull the stem end over the meat mixture, and fold the right and left sides of the leaf over and roll tightly to the very top. Place the cabbage rolls seam-side down in a large Dutch oven or ovenproof, straight-sided saucepan. Repeat with the remaining cabbage and pork filling.

  5. Step 5

    Pour the chicken broth over the cabbage rolls and bring to a boil over medium. Cover the pan, transfer to the oven, and bake until cabbage rolls are fork tender and the meat mixture is cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. Serve with ladles of broth over the rolls and a drizzle of sesame oil.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,969 user ratings
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Comments

Tracy

Made these with a few changes. We eliminated the kosher salt and added 1 tsp. of fish sauce. Doubled the ginger. We scattered 12 peeled garlic cloves around the rolls before adding the broth. We drizzled the cooked rolls with sesame oil and chili oil. They are very tasty, and we are looking forward to the leftovers.

reddog_momma

We make this dish every other week it seems. It's that good. We add roughly 4-6 minced garlic cloves to this and it makes the dish. Additionally, we've used ground turkey, beef, pork, chicken and bison. All are delish! I've also made it without rice and the results were the same as with. Lastly, we've also used Savoy, Napa, and the normal green cabbage, and again, all work great! Savoy is our favorite however.

jenn

I used ground chicken and added cilantro. It was great. Tasted like a steamed dumpling so I made a quick dumpling sauce of soy, vinegar, and chili. It was perfect!

misssterly

Used Coconut Aminos instead of soy sauce and a garlic and red pepper oil instead of sesame oil (allergens). Tasted delicious!

Bland

We found these cabbage rolls relatively bland and the rice to meat ratio was odd. If using a leaner ground pork, the meat is overly dry by the time the raw rice actually cooks. The recipe has potential, but needs work. I’d start by doubling the rice and par cooking it. Leave out the egg. It just made things pasty. Increase the seasoning level, maybe with things like fish sauce, chili paste, sweet soy, vinegar, five spice. The garlic and ginger levels were pretty good. Test a small bit of the meat mixture by cooking in a skillet before stuffing leaves. The chicken broth dilutes the flavor somewhat. Might be preferable to steam the rolls instead of submerging them in liquid.

Chelsea

So delicious. Made ours with green cabbage (removing thick ribs); saved some water and time by steaming the cabbage leaves instead of boiling. In addition to sesame oil, we finished with more sliced scallions and chili crisp. Definitely in our recipe rotation now!

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