Stir-Fried Cabbage and Pork in Fish Sauce Butter

By Kay Chun

Published March 11, 2025

Stir-Fried Cabbage and Pork in Fish Sauce Butter
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
30 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Rating
5(1,469)
Comments
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This quick, weeknight cabbage and pork stir-fry is humble in ingredients yet packed with flavor, thanks to briny fish sauce, rich brown butter and potent aromatics (ginger, garlic and red-pepper flakes). Chopped cabbage gets a nice char in butter that browns as it cooks, adding richness to the lean vegetable. Fast-cooking ground pork is infused with garlic, ginger and scallions, and the final addition of salty fish sauce, bright lime juice and chopped fresh cilantro creates a punchy sauce. If you like a jolt of heat, use a thinly sliced bird’s-eye chile in place of the crushed red pepper.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola or safflower
  • 1pound ground pork
  • Salt and pepper 
  • 3scallions, thinly sliced
  • 3garlic cloves, minced
  • 1tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • 3tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1pound green or red cabbage, chopped into 1-inch pieces (about 5 cups)
  • 1tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1tablespoon lime juice, plus wedges for serving
  • ¼teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • ½cup coarsely chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
  • Cooked rice (such as short-grain white or brown rice), for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

519 calories; 37 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 23 grams protein; 736 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add pork, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up the meat until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Add scallions, garlic and ginger, and stir until fragrant, 30 seconds. Transfer the pork mixture to a plate.

  3. Step 3

    Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to the skillet and stir until melted. Add cabbage, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender and golden in spots, 5 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Stir in the pork mixture (and any accumulated juices), then add fish sauce, lime juice, crushed red pepper and the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, and mix well. Turn off the heat. Season with salt and pepper and stir in cilantro.

  5. Step 5

    Divide pork and cabbage mixture over rice in bowls. Top with more cilantro and serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,469 user ratings
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Comments

Jeanette R

@Carly Fish sauce is quite salty, and varies according to brand. This will determine thee need for additional salt.

Ellen

Perfect combination of tasty, quick, cheap, and relatively healthy. When I make it again (which I’m sure I will) I’ll use a wok or a Dutch oven instead of a large frying pan, as it was a little too full to comfortably stir. Great recipe.

Carly

Very good weeknight dinner! It definitely needs a good bit of salt- 1 lb of cabbage 1 lb of pork requires a lot. I wish NYT recipes would recommend at least a base amount of salt to start with. “Season with salt” implies a sprinkling (to non-chefs), which is definitely nowhere near enough for most dishes.

Leslye

I thought the pork needed a lot more cooking and a lot more seasoning. The cabbage was perfect. I ended up cooking onions in a separate pan, adding the pork to continue cooking, then putting it all into my food processor to break up the pork chunks even more. Then I added water and cooked it a while until the pork was tender. The first night I served the pork and cabbage separately. The second night I mixed them and the entire dish tasted much better.

marie

We doubled the garlic and ginger + 1 tbs of each: oyster sauce, tamari, 1 1/2 tbs of hoisin sauce and 1/2 tbs chili crisp + a bunch of asparagus. We cooked that recipe for 4 friends tonight, they all loved it. We almost doubled everything and there were no leftovers !

Julie

Wanted to love this but with twice the seasoning and a fair amount of salt we found this pretty bland. It is fast and economical. We served with Jasmine rice and garnish of cilantro, lime wedges and chopped peanuts. Glad we tried but moving on.

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