At the table, I then put out chili flakes or sambal oelek. This way, adults can add more spice, while children can eat without any problems.
If children are eating and soy sauce has a very strong taste, you can also replace some of it with water.
For example, three tablespoons of soy sauce and two tablespoons of water.
That’s still enough for plenty of flavor.
Sometimes I add a small squeeze of lime juice to my portion.
This slight acidity goes surprisingly well with the spicy sauce and the minced meat. Especially when the dish is more heavily seasoned, the lime makes everything taste fresher.
A few sesame seeds sprinkled on top are also tasty, but not at all necessary.
I think the dish looks so good in the picture precisely because it’s not overloaded with ten different toppings. You can still see the minced meat, the carrots, the cabbage, and the spring onions.
That’s exactly how I like to serve it.
If you would like to prepare the pan in advance, you can cut the vegetables several hours beforehand and store them separately in the refrigerator.
The sauce can also be easily prepared in advance.
Then in the evening all you really need to do is heat up the pan and add everything one after the other.
After about 15 minutes, the food is already on the table.
This is also perfect for days when you don’t get home until late.
I know the feeling: You open the fridge, you’re tired, and you just want to eat something. It’s often in moments like these that you end up making boring sandwiches or ordering takeout.
However, if the vegetables are already prepared, this pan dish will be ready faster than an order could be delivered.
And yet afterwards you still feel like you’ve eaten a proper meal.
The dish still tastes very good the next day.
I store leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator and briefly heat them in a pan the next day.
I add at most one tablespoon of water.
It also works in the microwave, of course, but I find the cabbage cooked in a pan a bit better.
Leftovers should not be heated for ten minutes, otherwise the vegetables will completely lose their crispness.
For meal prep, I would only keep the pan in the refrigerator for a maximum of two to three days.
I store the rice separately.
This way it doesn’t absorb all the sauce and both can be heated better later.
Something else I sometimes do: The next day, I put the leftovers in the pan along with cooked pasta.
Add a little more soy sauce and suddenly you have an almost new dish.
It works surprisingly well.
Those who want to reduce carbohydrates, on the other hand, don’t need any side dish at all.
With plenty of Chinese cabbage and a little more minced meat, it becomes a really filling meal.
That’s precisely why this recipe is so popular with us: it can be easily adapted without having to cook a completely different dish each time.
If I know that several very hungry people will be eating, I simply take 600g of minced meat and a large Chinese cabbage.
I then increase the amount of sauce by about half.
That’s really all that needs to be changed.
If you’re wondering whether you can use regular white cabbage instead of Chinese cabbage: Yes, absolutely.
He just needs more time.
I would fry the white cabbage for about eight to ten minutes before adding the sauce. You might want to add a splash of water to help it soften a little faster.
For Chinese cabbage, however, a few minutes are sufficient.
That’s exactly why the original is so fast.
Another point is the order in which the vegetables are prepared.
Always start with carrots, then follow with cabbage.
If you throw everything into the pan at the same time, the carrots are often still very hard at the end, while the cabbage is already completely soft.
A two- to three-minute lead is usually enough.
Be careful not to burn the garlic and ginger.
One minute at medium to high heat is sufficient.
Then add the vegetables immediately.
Burnt garlic tastes bitter and can actually ruin an entire pan.
By the way, you don’t need to be afraid of making small changes to the sauce.
If you prefer it a little sweeter, use more honey.
If you like strong spices, add another tablespoon of soy sauce.
Those who like spicy food should choose chili.
And for those who want a little more sauce with their rice, simply do not double the water and cornstarch completely, but add about 100 ml of additional broth.
Then you get a sauciier version.
However, the photo shows the dry, shiny pan version.
Therefore, I would not use too much liquid to achieve precisely this result.
The vegetables should not be swimming in sauce.
It should just be nicely over-coated.
If there is too much liquid in the pan at the end, simply turn up the heat again and fry everything vigorously for one to two minutes.
The problem usually resolves itself.
Chinese cabbage, in particular, contains a lot of water and releases a considerable amount when heated. Therefore, again: use a large pot or pan, plenty of heat, and no lid.
Then it will work.
I have made this dish in several variations by now, but I always come back to the simple version.
Minced meat.
Chinese cabbage.
Carrots.
Spring onions.
A good sauce.
That’s all you really need.
Sometimes, it’s precisely these simple recipes that become permanent fixtures in everyday life.
Not the complicated Sunday dish with 25 ingredients, but the pan you cook on Wednesday at 6:30 while someone asks: “When’s dinner?”
And ten minutes later everyone is sitting at the table.
I love recipes like these.
So if you have some Chinese cabbage in your fridge and don’t know what to do with it, try this minced meat stir-fry.
It’s spicy, juicy, a little crunchy, and ready in half an hour.
And feel free to use a large pan.
With us, almost always someone wants seconds after the first serving.
