Introduction: Polish Gołąbki: Stuffed Cabbage Roll (Seafood Version)

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Stuffed cabbage rolls are a common Polish cuisine typically made of pork or beef and rice filling. However, I decided to experiment a little with this recipe - this version of stuffed cabbage uses seafood instead of ground beef, but you can change it up and choose your own filling. It is a filling, yet also simple and healthy meal to prepare.

Step 1: Ingredients

Ingredients

  • Cabbage Leaves
  • Tomato / Pasta Sauce
  • Fish balls or fish tofu
  • Rice
  • Egg

Condiments

  • Margarine
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Sriracha

Kitchen Supplies

  • Wok
  • Bowl
  • Plates
  • Cutting board and Knife

Step 2: Mise En Place

There's quite of lot of separate ingredients for the filling, so plenty of preparation work is needed!

  1. Egg: Crack the egg to a small bowl and scramble until it looks uniformly yellow
  2. Fish Balls: Defrost the fish balls (30-45sec to defrost) and slice them into smaller pieces (see picture)
  3. Sauce: Add about 250mL of pasta sauce and water each and stir in 2 teaspoons of sugar

Step 3: Making the Rice Filling

Time to make the filling!

  1. Add some margarine on a non stick pan and heat on medium
  2. Once the margarine is melted, add in the rice and stir
  3. Add the beaten egg
  4. Cover for 2-3 minutes

Step 4: Adding the Fishballs

Now for the exciting part - seafood!

  1. Add the cut up fish balls into the rice
  2. Add in a tablespoon of salt and pepper each and Sriracha to taste

Step 5: Making the Cabbage Roll

Now that the filling is done, we can make the actual cabbage rolls.

  1. Spread the leafy portion apart, then add a couple of spoonfuls of filling
  2. Fold both sides inward
  3. Fold the top and bottom (you may need to crack the stem of the cabbage)

TIP: If the roll isn't staying in form, you can wrap it in cling wrap and freeze.

Step 6: Boiling It With Tomato Sauce

Final step! Cabbage rolls are traditionally served in a type of tomato sauce.

  1. In a saucepan, pour the diluted pasta sauce and set to medium heat
  2. Place the cabbage rolls stem side down
  3. Let it boil until the sauce thickens and leaves soften.

Enjoy!