Pickled Napa Cabbage is a refreshing and delicious side dish to go with steamed rice or any Japanese or Asian meal. This quick tsukemono recipe is so easy to make! I‘ll also show you how to add an umami boost with your choice of a sesame or kombu (dried kelp) flavor.
One of the vegetables I use quite often in fall and winter is napa cabbage. I primarily use it to make all kinds of hot pot dishes and quick Fresh Kimchi. Many of you have asked what else you can do with napa cabbage besides using it for a hot pot. So today I’ll show you the easiest and quickest Japanese Pickled Napa Cabbage (白菜の浅漬け) recipe.
Table of Contents
Why You Should Make This Recipe
This recipe is for you if you’re looking for a recipe that is…
- Easy and quick
- Customizable
- Great for utilizing a lot of vegetables
When you don’t know what to do with a big portion of vegetables, quick Japanese pickled vegetable called asazuke (浅漬け) is a way to go. With the use of salt, the vegetables will release its moisture and shrink the volume tremendously. Since we always serve one or two types of tsukemono (Japanese pickles) as a part of the meal, we can use up quite a bit of vegetables this way.
Enjoy Pickled Napa Cabbage in 2 Flavors
Since this pickled napa cabbage recipe is really easy to make, let me introduce two flavors: sesame flavor and kombu flavor. You can choose either one, or make both! If you cook Japanese recipes before, you probably have sesame oil, sesame seeds, kombu (dried kelp), and rice vinegar already in your pantry.
I keep the ingredients minimal, so you can always make this recipe with vegetables you have in the fridge, along with those pantry-friendly ingredients/condiments I mentioned above.
How to Make Napa Cabbage Pickles
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Napa cabbage – You can use green cabbage. Read below for substitution.
- Salt – The amount of salt should be 2.5% of the weight of napa cabbage
- Seasoning Option 1: roasted sesame oil and sesame seeds
- Seasoning Option 2: kombu (strips) and rice vinegar
Overview: Cooking Steps
- Cut the napa cabbage into strips or square pieces and put in a resealable bag.
- Weigh the napa cabbage on a kitchen scale. To calculate the salt, it should be 2.5% of the weight of the napa cabbage.
- Add the salt to the bag. (For Seasoning Option 2, also add the kombu strips.) Massage the napa cabbage through the bag. Set it aside in the refrigerator.
- Squeeze and drain the water.
- Add the seasoning and mix it together.
Napa Cabbage and Substitution
Called hakusai (白菜) in Japanese and commonly referred as Chinese cabbage, this versatile cabbage is a favorite vegetable widely eaten in East Asian cuisines. We use in soups, stews, stir-fries, gyoza fillings, salads, and more.
Napa cabbage tastes mild and slightly sweet and won’t interfere with other more assertive flavors. The fibrous stem is crunchy and succulent, and the ruffled leaves cook quickly.
These days, you can find napa cabbage at most supermarkets. If not, you will find it at Asian and Japanese grocery stores.
Substitutions
If you can’t find napa cabbage, you can use green cabbage for this recipe. I often make it with regular cabbage too. You can also use other vegetables, such as cucumber, zucchini, carrot, celery, bell pepper, daikon radish, kabu (Japanese turnip), eggplant, myoga ginger, and tomatoes.
💡 Tip: Whatever vegetable you decide to use, I highly recommend measuring the weight of the vegetable using a kitchen scale instead of volume (cup) to determine the accurate amount of salt.
Two Important Tips
- Use a kitchen scale to measure the weight of napa cabbage so you can add an accurate amount of salt. It is another tool but you will not regret it. With the kitchen scale, you can switch around different vegetables and measure the proper amount of salt (2.5% of vegetable weight). May I suggest my favorite kitchen scale ($26) after purchasing 3 different ones?
- Use a resealable plastic bag to put the vegetable and salt. I’m environmentally conscious but for a quick pickled vegetable, it’s really important that you are able to rub the vegetable with salt through the plastic bag and facilitate the “quick pickling” process. We don’t have time for the vegetable to slowly release its moisture with heavy weights on top of the vegetable like a normal pickle recipe.
Other Japanese Pickle Recipes
- 4 Easy Soy Sauce Pickles
- Pickled Sushi Ginger (Gari)
- Spicy Japanese Pickled Cucumbers
- Senmaizuke (Japanese Pickled Turnip)
- Japanese Pickled Cabbage
- 12 Japanese Pickles You Can Make At Home
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Pickled Napa Cabbage
Ingredients
- 500 g napa cabbage (1.1 lb, 500 g after removing the core; about ¼ head; or use green cabbage)
- 12.5 g Diamond Crystal kosher salt (2.5% of napa cabbage‘s weight; 1 Tbsp of Diamond Crystal kosher salt is 10 g)
For the Sesame Flavor (Option 1)
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
For the Kombu Flavor (Option 2)
- 1 piece kombu (dried kelp) (cut into thin strips; 1 x 1 inch, 2.5 x 2.5 cm per piece)
- 1 dried red chili pepper (optional, for a spicy kick; seeded and sliced)
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Slice and Weigh
- Discard the tough core of 500 g napa cabbage. Then, thinly slice the cabbage crosswise and against the grain, about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick.
- Place a resealable plastic bag on the kitchen scale and add the napa cabbage. Check the weight of the napa cabbage. The weight of my napa cabbage is 500 grams. The salt should be 2.5% of the napa cabbage weight. Therefore, I will need 12.5 grams of salt for the next step.
To Add the Salt
- Add 12.5 g Diamond Crystal kosher salt into the plastic bag.
To Add the Sesame Flavor (Option 1)
- To make sesame-flavored pickles, first withdraw the moisture from the napa cabbage before seasoning. Rub the napa cabbage and salt together through the bag. Seal the bag and set it aside for 30 minutes. Once in a while, rub the cabbage through the bag to facilitate the pickling.
- After 30 minutes, the napa cabbage will have wilted and released moisture. Taste the napa cabbage and make sure the texture and saltiness are to your liking. Squeeze out the liquid and drain the released moisture from the bag.
- Add 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil and 1 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds to the bag and mix them all together by shaking and rubbing the bag. Now, the pickled napa cabbage is ready to serve.
To Add the Kombu Flavor (Option 2)
- Alternatively, you can flavor your pickles with kombu (dried kelp). Cut 1 piece kombu (dried kelp) into thin strips and add (along with optional 1 dried red chili pepper, seeded and sliced) to the plastic bag with the fresh napa cabbage and salt.
- Rub the napa cabbage and salt together through the bag. Seal the bag and set it aside for 30 minutes. Once in a while, rub the cabbage through the bag to facilitate the pickling.
- After 30 minutes, the napa cabbage will have wilted and released moisture. Taste the napa cabbage and make sure the texture and saltiness are to your liking. Squeeze out the liquid and drain the released moisture from the bag.
- Add 1 Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned) to the bag and mix it all together by shaking and rubbing the bag. Now, the pickled napa cabbage is ready to serve.
To Store and Serve
- Transfer your Pickled Napa Cabbage to airtight containers. You can keep the Pickled Napa Cabbage in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days. Serve directly at the table from their containers or serve portions on small, individual plates. You can drizzle a little bit of soy sauce for taste if preferred.
I am excited to try this! May I also ask, where do you buy the beautiful white scalloped plates from? I see they are common on Japanese food blogs and would love to have them too!
Hi Shirley! Thank you so much for reading Nami’s post!
The plate is from Musubi Kiln. There is a link to the shop and 10% discount code in this post.
Enjoy!
Can I make a big batch, ferment it longer, keep in fridge and eat over next few months?
Hi Bea! Thank you so much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
This pickle is Asazuke type and uses a lower amount of salt compared to fermented Pickles. So we recommend enjoying it winning 3~4 days.
We hope this helps!
Hello, can I use used kelp from making nibandashi? I store it in the fridge
Hi Guy, Thank you for taking the time to read Nami’s post and try her recipes.
For this recipe, we recommend using the unused dry Kombu because it will add Umami flavor to the Napa Cabbage.
Instead, the used kelp will be perfect for making Tukudani, adding flavor and taste to the used Kombu.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/simmered-kombu-tsukudani/
We hope this was helpful!
Easy and delicious salad!! I was do the sesame flavor and added some bean sprouts and some pickled daikon and eat it for lunch. Was taste really good and refreshing. Thanks again Nami.
Hi Marco! Thank you so much for reading Nami’s post and sharing your cooking experience with us!
The photo of your Pickled Napa Cabbage looks so delicious! 🤩