Asian-inspired Chicken Cabbage Stir Fry skillet, prepared in just one pan within minutes.
Global Food Recipes
with Spices and Herbs
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Enjoy this delicious cabbage chicken meal to the fullest because it's gluten-free & low-carb as well!
For this recipe, watch the how-to video and get the step-by-step recipe further below!
Do you love Chinese chicken meals? Try my Chinese inspired chicken noodle soup or this Chinese chicken on a stick recipe.
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One night I was about to cook a chicken chow mein.
I had prepared and cut all the fresh ingredients when I realized I was out of Chinese egg noodles (aka Low Mein noodles).
I decided to move on anyway because let's face it, you have to eat when you are hungry!
So, I prepared a chicken cabbage stir-fry, but with carrots.
The result was alright, the carrots were too much of the good.
I skipped the carrots the next time when I prepared them again, and that is how this quick chicken cabbage stir-fry came to be.
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🧅 Ingredients
The chicken and cabbage meal is low in carbs, gluten-free, and includes wholesome ingredients.
You can switch some ingredients to your liking if you prefer.
I mention below each some ingredients how you can substitute them effectively.
Chicken
For the chicken use, boneless breast or boneless legs lean chicken pieces.
I shredded the chicken into lengthy bite-sized equal bites.
Try to get A-grade chicken, it's superior in quality and won't turn chewy during the cooking process.
You can substitute the chicken with boneless turkey meat.
Cabbage
I simply tend to use whichever cabbage I have in my fridge.
That can be the regular globally most common cabbage head, or it can also be a Chinese cabbage variety such as Napa Cabbage.
Regular cabbage needs to cook longer because it's thicker. That's why a small quantity of water is added to cook through the cabbage. If you intend to use napa cabbage (Chinese cabbage), you don't need to add water to it because it's much more delicate and cooks through fast enough.
Ginger & Garlic
Both Ginger and Garlic, go hand in hand and are common in Asian cuisine.
The ginger lends the dish a warm spicy touch and the garlic compliments these flavors.
Green Onions
Also called Spring Onions, green onions are used to create flavor and to garnish the dish.
Separate the bulb from the stalks and use the sliced stalks as a garnish.
Soy Sauce
I use regular thin Soy Sauce here. It acts as a stir-fry sauce.
The soy sauce is added while you sauté the cabbage and chicken. It adds flavor and a salty touch to the meal.
Sesame
I like to just sprinkle some sesame seeds, black and/or white, over my meal. That is, to give it an Asian touch altogether.
You can also simply sprinkle some sesame oil over the meal.
Red Pepper Flakes (aka Red Chili Flakes)
The pepper flakes add little heat and are great as a garnish because of the red shredded bits.
It's visually appealing, and this is why I add it as a garnish at the end.
🥣 Flavor variations
Over time, I tried this recipe by adding or switching some ingredients, and you can do the same and experiment around.
The most notable change was the use of turkey meat strips instead of chicken.
I strongly recommend you try that too.
I also tried using red cabbage instead of napa cabbage and the result was great too because you also eat with your eyes.
Another time I threw in some fish sauce, besides soy sauce, and that was another winner in my book.
For a curried chicken cabbage stir-fry, add a teaspoon of curry powder during the stir-fry process.
🔪 How to make it?
Prepare this cabbage chicken stir-fry tonight by following the process steps.
The Recipe card with ingredient and instruction details can be found further below.
Step 1
Keep your ingredients cut and ready.
In a pan, stir cook sliced green onion bulb and ginger and garlic.
Add the cabbage and sauté until it has reduced in size in the pan.
Pour the soy sauce and water over the cabbage in the pan and stir cook over high heat until the cabbage is semi cooked through, and the water has dissolved.
Step 2
Make space in the center of the pan and add in the chicken strips.
Place cabbage over chicken and cook like that for a minute.
Stir cook and mix on high heat so that the chicken gets cooked on all sides quickly.
Step 3
Garnish with sesame seed or sesame oil, red pepper flakes for some heat, and with sliced green onion chalks.
📖 Recipe
Quick Chicken Cabbage Stir Fry Recipe
Ingredients
For the Stir Fry:
- 2-3 Green Onions bulb and stalks separated and sliced
- 8.5 ounces Chicken Boneless
- 1 inch Ginger Fresh fresh
- 2-3 pieces Garlic Cloves fresh
- 10.6 ounces Cabbage shredded Green or napa *see Notes
- 1 Tablespoon Oil I.e. vegetable, canola, sunflower,
- 2 Tablespoon Soy Sauce Classic commonly available type
- 1.7 fluid ounces Water not needed if you use napa cabbage
To garnish:
- Sesame Seeds or Sesame Oil
- Red Chili Pepper Flakes Red Chili Flakes
Instructions
- Keep all the ingredients ready. Slice the green onion and keep the white bulb and the green stalks separate. We will use the stalks as a garnish. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Shred cabbage. Chop ginger and garlic.2-3 Green Onions, 8.5 ounces Chicken Boneless, 1 inch Ginger Fresh, 10.6 ounces Cabbage shredded, 2-3 pieces Garlic Cloves
- Heat oil in a pan and stir-fry the onion bulb slices on a higher heat setting.2-3 Green Onions, 1 Tablespoon Oil
- Add the chopped ginger and garlic and stir-fry for a minute as well. Reduce the heat slightly.1 inch Ginger Fresh, 2-3 pieces Garlic Cloves
- Add cabbage and stir cook for 2 minutes over a high heat setting, or until the cabbage takes up less space in the pan. I like to use Chinese cooking chopsticks to stir-fry because they are longer and easier to use.10.6 ounces Cabbage shredded
- Quickly pour the soy sauce and water over the cabbage stir-fry and mix well. Stir cook 2-3 minutes over a high heat until water dissolves and cabbage cooks through. (If you use napa cabbage, don't add water and just cook for 1-2mins until half cooked through)2 Tablespoon Soy Sauce, 1.7 fluid ounces Water
- Reduce the heat setting to medium-high, make some space in the center and add chicken strips and stir fry. Mix the cabbage over the chicken and cook everything through. Make sure the chicken is cooked on all sides. The cabbage helps in keeping the chicken from turning chewy while cooking, however, make sure to not overcook the chicken on super high heat for all too long.8.5 ounces Chicken Boneless
- Once the chicken is cooked, the cabbage is crisp and tender and the liquid has dissolved, take from the heat and sprinkle some sesame seeds or sesame oil, as well as red pepper flakes over the cabbage chicken skillet meal. Spread the sliced green onion over the dish and serve still hot.Sesame Seeds or Sesame Oil, Red Chili Pepper Flakes
Notes
Nutrition
🍴 Serving
You can serve up this easy one skillet low-carb dish with rice in a bowl.
You can also add curry to the bunch.
I also enjoy it with cooked noodles or with plain bread at the side.
Another idea is to prepare a wok with simple stir-fried vegetables and to serve it together.
👁️ More Asian Stir-Fries
Dear Reader, have you tried the recipe?
Global Food Recipes
with Spices and Herbs
Free E-Book available for a limited time. Grab yours now and get instantly inspired!
You missed out!
Tom Cookson says
Hellene I just tried this recipe. Turned out beautiful. So easy, no fuss and not a lot of ingredients to consider.
Thank you. Best part is you can sprinkle chilli flakes to your level which made this dish perfect for me. Thanks again.
Regards Tom
Jodi says
Hi, can you use broccoli instead of cabbage?
Helene Dsouza says
Yes sure, but make sure to cut the broccoli into smaller chunks so that it gets cooked through properly.
Robb says
I made this. Very tasty. If I make this again, I will cook the onion and chicken first. By cooking the cabbage first, it’s too difficult to tell when the chicken is thoroughly cooked.
Helene Dsouza says
Hi Robb, the reason why I cook the cabbage first is that cabbage contains a lot of water, and it takes much longer to cook. The aim is to reduce the water content in the cabbage over high heat. Adding the chicken to cook at the end is better because that way you won't overcook your chicken. You can check if your chicken is done and cooked through by breaking one apart in the pan while you are still cooking your meal.
Diana says
This recipe has ingredients I love, but it just didn’t make sense at the end, Why add water since cabbage releases a lot of liquid? All it did was make it soupy since I didn’t want to overcook the chicken. I prefer a slightly thicker and more flavorful sauce. I used fresh ginger and garlic as is usual with stir fry’s and even added toasted sesame seeds at the end and a gourmet mushroom soy sauce. Disappointing since it seemed like a healthy twist.
Helene Dsouza says
Hi Diana, I'm sorry that it didn't turn out as expected. The small quantity of water is added so that the cabbage gets time to cook through. That way the cabbage isn't too crunchy but also gets to take in some other flavors. Cooking it over a higher heat setting, should reduce the sauce soon enough during the stir cooking process. This works best with regular cabbage. Napa cabbage (Chinese cabbage) is much more delicate and in this case, you wouldn't have to add the water at all. I should have made that more clear in the instructions. I hope you had time to watch the video where all this can be seen in action. In the video it can be seen that the chicken is only added after the cabbage has cooked almost through and the pan is dry since the water dissolved. The video pops up automatically when you scroll down, except if you have used an ad blocker. That said, you could have left a recipe rating, every feedback is valuable.
Tina Purewal Sidhu says
What kind of cabbage do you use? Green or Napa? The recipe doesn’t specify
Helene Dsouza says
Hi Tina, you can use either one, both are suitable choices. I briefly mention this in the Ingredient's section in the post (not the recipe card). However, I will make it more clear. I used a regular green cabbage head in the pictures and video. If you choose to use a napa cabbage, it will cook through faster and your cooking time decreases.
Sam says
What is the serving size for this meal
Helene Dsouza says
One skillet full serves about 2 people. So about 1 1/2 - 2 cups serving per Person.
Stephanie says
I’m having a hard time converting the measurements into cups . How many cups of cabbage is your recipe needing
Helene Dsouza says
Stephanie, use about 1/3 of a medium-sized cabbage.
Aerobinson says
Very good
Sandy says
This is a great recipe! I was looking for low calorie, low carb recipes and came across yours. Chicken breast came out tender and had good flavor. I have already tried making a low carb "eggroll in a bowl" and wasn't impressed at all. This recipe were the flavors I was expecting from that other recipe. I didn't have green onion so I used sliced white onion instead. I also just used 16 ounces of coleslaw mix and increased the recipe to 1 and a half times the amounts. Thanks for spending all the effort and time to make recipes like these for people like me.
Helene Dsouza says
Sandy thank you for your lovely comment. You made my day! :)) It's nice to know that you enjoyed the dish as much as we did and that you found the recipe clear and easy to recreate at home.
Jamie says
Made this for dinner and it was a hit! I swapped coconut aminos for soy sauce (soy sauce is not gluten free FYI)
Helene Dsouza says
except if you get gluten-free soy sauce 🙂
Thank you for your feedback
Kristi says
Made this tonight and it was a huge hit! My family devoured the whole pan and wanted to know we would have it again. It will be a go to recipe for my family. Thank you!!
Helene Dsouza says
Hi Kristi, glad to read that your family enjoyed this dish as much as we did. Thank you for your feedback.
Toni says
Such a great meal for weeknights! Looks delish!
michele says
My husband is so excited I put this on our dinner rotation! I had all of the ingredients and it came together so quickly..... and omg... so so yummy! Will definitely make this again!
Helene Dsouza says
Happy to read that you guys liked it, thanks for the feedback!