Thai Peanut Cabbage Rolls (Gołąbki Remix)
Same rolling technique babcia taught me, completely different filling. That’s the beauty of gołąbki — the cabbage roll format is a blank canvas. Polish gołąbki fill it with pork, rice, and tomato sauce. These Thai peanut cabbage rolls fill it with a spicy peanut chicken mixture inspired by peanut noodles and Thai larb, then braise them in a coconut-peanut sauce that my babcia could never have imagined but would absolutely have eaten three of.
Ingredients
For the Filling
- 1 pound ground chicken or turkey
- 3 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 cup cooked jasmine rice
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup crushed peanuts
For the Coconut-Peanut Sauce
- 1 can coconut milk 400ml
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
For Assembly
- 1 large head green cabbage
- Fresh cilantro, crushed peanuts, lime wedges
Method
Prep the Cabbage
-
Core the cabbage and blanch in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes until the outer leaves are pliable. Carefully peel off 10-12 large leaves. Shave down the thick rib at the base of each leaf so it rolls easily. This is the exact same technique I use for traditional gołąbki — babcia taught me to blanch, peel, shave, and roll. My hands know this process by heart. The cabbage doesn’t know whether it’s getting Polish pork or Thai chicken. It cooperates either way.
Make the Filling
-
Cook the ground chicken with garlic and ginger for 5-6 minutes until no longer pink. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter, soy sauce, sriracha, fish sauce, lime juice, cooked rice, green onions, and crushed peanuts. The filling should be saucy, nutty, spicy, and bright from the lime. Taste and adjust — more sriracha for heat, more lime for tang, more peanut butter for richness.
Roll
-
Place about 3 tablespoons of filling at the base of each cabbage leaf. Fold in the sides and roll tightly — the same tucking motion as gołąbki, the same motion as wrapping dumplings, the same universal “food in wrapper” technique that every cuisine independently invented. Place seam-side down in a baking dish.
Sauce and Bake
-
Whisk together the coconut-peanut sauce: coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, and sriracha. Pour over the cabbage rolls. Cover with foil. Bake at 175C / 350F for 35-40 minutes until the cabbage is tender and the sauce is bubbling. Remove foil for the last 10 minutes to let the tops colour slightly.
Serve
-
Spoon the coconut-peanut sauce over the rolls. Top with fresh cilantro, crushed peanuts, and a squeeze of lime. Serve with extra jasmine rice to soak up the sauce. The rolls should be tender, the filling nutty and spicy, and the coconut sauce creamy and rich.
Thai Peanut Cabbage Rolls (Gołąbki Remix)
Same rolling technique babcia taught me, completely different filling. That’s the beauty of gołąbki — the cabbage roll format is a blank canvas. Polish gołąbki fill it with pork, rice, and tomato sauce. These Thai peanut cabbage rolls fill it with a spicy peanut chicken mixture inspired by peanut noodles and Thai larb, then braise them in a coconut-peanut sauce that my babcia could never have imagined but would absolutely have eaten three of.
The idea came during a week when I had leftover cabbage from gołąbki (always too much cabbage, never enough filling — the universal gołąbki experience) and a fridge full of Thai condiments from pad thai night. My brain connected the two: cabbage rolls are just a delivery system. The filling can be anything. Why not Thai peanut chicken? The rolling technique is identical. The blanching-the-cabbage step is identical. Only the inside changes. And when the inside changed, something magical happened — the mild, sweet cabbage wrapped around spicy, nutty, lime-bright filling created a flavour contrast that was genuinely exciting.
Ingredients
For the Filling
- • 1 pound ground chicken (or turkey)
- • 3 tablespoons peanut butter
- • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- • 1 tablespoon sriracha
- • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- • 1 cup cooked jasmine rice
- • 2 green onions, sliced
- • 2 cloves garlic, minced
- • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- • Juice of 1 lime
- • 1/4 cup crushed peanuts
For the Coconut-Peanut Sauce
- • 1 can (400ml) coconut milk
- • 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- • 1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
- • 1 teaspoon sriracha
For Assembly
- • 1 large head green cabbage
- • Fresh cilantro, crushed peanuts, lime wedges
How to Make Them
Prep the Cabbage
Core the cabbage and blanch in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes until the outer leaves are pliable. Carefully peel off 10-12 large leaves. Shave down the thick rib at the base of each leaf so it rolls easily. This is the exact same technique I use for traditional gołąbki — babcia taught me to blanch, peel, shave, and roll. My hands know this process by heart. The cabbage doesn’t know whether it’s getting Polish pork or Thai chicken. It cooperates either way.
Make the Filling
Cook the ground chicken with garlic and ginger for 5-6 minutes until no longer pink. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter, soy sauce, sriracha, fish sauce, lime juice, cooked rice, green onions, and crushed peanuts. The filling should be saucy, nutty, spicy, and bright from the lime. Taste and adjust — more sriracha for heat, more lime for tang, more peanut butter for richness.
Roll
Place about 3 tablespoons of filling at the base of each cabbage leaf. Fold in the sides and roll tightly — the same tucking motion as gołąbki, the same motion as wrapping dumplings, the same universal “food in wrapper” technique that every cuisine independently invented. Place seam-side down in a baking dish.
Sauce and Bake
Whisk together the coconut-peanut sauce: coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, and sriracha. Pour over the cabbage rolls. Cover with foil. Bake at 175C / 350F for 35-40 minutes until the cabbage is tender and the sauce is bubbling. Remove foil for the last 10 minutes to let the tops colour slightly.
Serve
Spoon the coconut-peanut sauce over the rolls. Top with fresh cilantro, crushed peanuts, and a squeeze of lime. Serve with extra jasmine rice to soak up the sauce. The rolls should be tender, the filling nutty and spicy, and the coconut sauce creamy and rich.
Babcia’s Technique, Thailand’s Flavours
Everything about the construction of these rolls is Polish. The blanching. The rib-shaving. The rolling. The braising in sauce in a covered dish. But everything about the flavour is Thai — peanut, coconut, lime, fish sauce, sriracha. It’s the clearest demonstration of what Polish Mom cooking philosophy means: techniques are transferable across cultures. Once you master a method — rolling cabbage, folding dumplings, breading cutlets — you can apply it to any cuisine’s flavours. Babcia’s hands taught me gołąbki. My curiosity taught me Thai food. This recipe is where they meet.
Tips
💡 Pro Tips
✓ Drain the filling well. Wet filling makes soggy rolls. The rice absorbs excess moisture.
✓ Roll tight. Loose rolls fall apart during baking. Tuck the sides in firmly.
✓ Full-fat coconut milk. Light coconut milk makes a thin, watery sauce.
✓ Lime juice after baking. A fresh squeeze of lime right before eating brightens the rich coconut sauce dramatically.
How to Store
Fridge 4-5 days (the rolls absorb sauce and become more flavourful overnight). Freezes well for 3 months — one of the best freezer meals in the Fusion Lab collection. Reheat covered in the oven at 175C / 350F for 20 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use regular gołąbki filling instead?
Of course — this recipe is about showing that the cabbage roll format works with ANY filling. But if you want the Thai peanut experience, trust the filling as written. The peanut butter, fish sauce, and lime combination in a cabbage roll is genuinely surprising and delicious. If you’re nervous, make half traditional gołąbki and half Thai peanut rolls and serve them side by side. Let the table vote. In my house, the Thai peanut version wins 3-1 (babcia’s original recipe has one loyal holdout — my oldest son, the traditionalist).
What does the coconut-peanut sauce taste like?
Rich, creamy, slightly sweet, with a nutty depth from the peanut butter and a gentle warmth from the sriracha. It’s reminiscent of Thai coconut curry sauce but nuttier and thicker. It replaces the tomato sauce that traditional gołąbki braize in, and it performs the same function: keeping the rolls moist and adding another flavour layer. Different sauce, same braising logic. Babcia would approve of the technique even if she’d raise an eyebrow at the coconut milk.
Variations
• Vegetarian: Replace chicken with crumbled tofu and extra crushed peanuts. The peanut sauce keeps it rich and satisfying.
• With glass noodles: Add soaked glass noodles to the filling for extra body. Similar to Vietnamese spring roll filling.
• Spicier: Add diced Thai chilli to the filling and extra sriracha to the sauce. My version. The heat builds beautifully under the mild cabbage wrapper.
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