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.