Red cabbage stir fry with rice, sun-dried tomatoes and edamame (20 minutes)

Last Updated on June 26, 2020

Since I learned from a renowned physician that red cabbage is the number 1 bargain antioxidant vegetable, a red cabbage stir fry was overdue.

So here comes my first “warm” clean eating recipe with this purple cruciferous vegetable playing the main role. I’m sure you’ll love the fact that this delicious vegan dish can be ready within 20 minutes. The only premise is that you have cooked grains (e.g. brown rice) at hand. And if not, I’ll give you a tip below how to speed up cooking time. Read on!

Time-saving tip: replace brown rice with bulgur

If you don’t have cooked brown rice at hand, you could easily use bulgur instead which can be cooked in a breeze. Just cover it with boiled salted water and let it sit for 20 minutes. Don’t tell me that this important whole grain is missing in your pantry?!

This coarse wheat meal is full of dietary fibers, which make you longer satiated. Other substances in bulgur can calm the nerves and regulate blood sugar levels. For the following ingredients overview I’ve used bulgur.

Ingredients you need

Ingredient notes

Edamame: You can use either pre-cooked, ready made edamame beans (see above) or frozen which you have to shell before. It takes some time to shell them but the reward is a green eye-catcher you won’t get with the pre-cooked version.

Sun-dried tomatoes: You can maybe skip the edamame, but it’s the dry tomatoes that give this flavorful dish the ultimate kick. By the way, did you know that dried tomatoes are high in fiber, antioxidants, and proteins?

They are available either in jars with oil, but even better if you can get oil-free sun-dried tomatoes in resealable bags to keep this recipe as light as possible. I don’t know about the US, but here in Germany I can purchase little bags with oil-free sun-dried tomatoes even at Aldi!

Herbs & spices: You can use either fresh or dried basil, oregano and turmeric

Ingredient swaps

If you want to switch things up, here are some variations you can try:

Grains: Instead of bulgur you can use any other cooked grains like brown rice (see below), millet, buckwheat or the pseudo-grain quinoa for an extra punch of protein. If you have plenty of time click through to learn how to cook brown rice on the stove for perfect side dishes.

Peas: if you can’t get Edamame frozen peas are a great replacement with a similar eye-catching color effect.

Step-by-step photos

Step 1: sauté diced onions in some olive oil for a minute.

Step 2: Add thinly sliced red cabbage and stir-fry for 5 minutes on medium heat.

Step 3: Now add garlic and turmeric and stir-fry for another minute.

Step 4: It’s time to add cooked grains (bulgur, brown rice etc.) and frozen edamame. Stir-fry for three minutes. If you are using pre-cooked edamame add it with step 5.

Step 5: At last add sun-dried tomatoes, soy sauce, herbs and cook for another 3 minutes at medium heat. If you are using pre-cooked edamame then you would add it in this step.

As you can see it is an easy and colorful one-pan meal.

Heads up regarding seasoning. Sun-dried tomatoes are usually salty, so you often won’t need any additional seasoning for this dish.

Don’t tell me that I didn’t warn you, especially if you have to watch your sodium intake…

Print

More red cabbage recipes

If you love red cabbage but you don’t know what else to do with it, you’ve come to the right place. Some time ago I’ve posted a vitamin-rich salad recipe with purple cabbage and carrots including a secret ingredient.

I’m sure you’ll enjoy it too. In this blog post, I’ve also put together the top benefits of this cruciferous vegetable. Click through for the clean eating red cabbage salad recipe.