Spicy stewed napa cabbage and frozen tofu with vermicelli 白菜炖冻豆腐

A bubbling stew of napa cabbage with chewy, translucent glass noodles. Spongey wedges of thawed frozen tofu, soaking up all the salty, spicy, mildly sweet juices. Vegan and gluten-free.

Napa cabbage and tofu are humble foods in northern China, but they represent ingredients that everyone had access to, even in the winter, when heads of cabbage were stockpiled in every family’s cellar and were often the only fresh produce available.  

In the summer, I like to eat napa cabbage raw: the sturdy, crisp and juicy stalks can be cut thin and dressed in a bright, zingy soy sauce and sesame oil vinaigrette for a Chinese salad. But in the winter, I want the solace of tender, soft napa cabbage in a hot stew or soup. Cooked long enough, the cabbage’s white, waxy stalks turn translucent, releasing their sweet and mild juices into the pot; the leaves becoming meltingly soft, barely offering resistance to each bite. Soupy napa cabbage is my favorite.

I love pairing napa cabbage with frozen tofu: the cabbage releases a lot of liquid, and the porous thawed tofu absorbs liquid greedily. This stew is inspired by a dongbei (northeast Chinese) dish — families will sit down around a piping hot, hearty tureen of napa cabbage cooked down with fat pork and glass noodles. Sometimes, it’s made with suancai, napa cabbage that’s fermented until sour, but I use fresh napa cabbage here for its sweeter, gentler flavor. It’s not traditional to add Sichuan chili bean paste, but I love its spicy flavor and rich, red color.

Ingredients

Napa cabbage. This is the base of the dish— you’ll need a pound and a half, about half a medium head of cabbage.

The aromatics are star anise (optional), dried red chiles, ginger, garlic, and scallions— bloomed in the hot oil first, they add spicy warmth and fragrance to the broth.

Glass noodles (fěn tiáo 粉条)— I like the Korean sweet potato glass noodles used for japchae. They lend filling bulk to the dish— they’re chewy, tender, and very satisfying to slurp up with the soup. I don’t recommend using bean thread— thicker vermicelli noodles work better in this recipe.

Frozen tofu (dòngdòufu 冻豆腐):    

Freezing tofu changes its cellular structure; as the water in the tofu freezes into ice crystals, they pierce the cell walls and leak out when defrosted, thereby removing much of the moisture in the curds. This leaves a marvelously porous tofu that absorbs flavors and sauces greedily.

You can buy frozen tofu in Asian supermarkets, or simply prepare it yourself by freezing the tofu solid, then letting it defrost in the refrigerator. You can toss in a pack of tofu and let it freeze whole overnight, and then defrost it slowly over the next day, but to quicken the process, I cut the tofu before freezing it. The smaller pieces will thaw a lot faster too.

You can also use tofu puffs or storebought fried tofu— they have chewy, golden skin and richer flavor.

Sichuan chili bean paste— thick, red paste with salty, pungent notes and slow-burning heat. Use yellow fermented soybean paste (huāngdòu jiàng 黄豆酱) or miso paste for a mild version.

Equipment needed

Since this is a stew, use a wok or heavy-bottomed, deep pot like a Dutch oven or a large clay pot (shā guō). I love using my Chinese clay pot to make this dish, which cooks down the cabbage with gentle, sustained heat and preserves the most flavor, but a wok works just fine too.

Print

📖 Recipe