Japanese Cabbage Rolls in Consommé (Roru Kyabetsu)
Cuisine: Japanese
Region: 日本各地
Servings: 2〜3人分（8個）
Japanese Cabbage Rolls in Consommé (Roru Kyabetsu) is a home-style meat dish. Ingredients and step-by-step instructions are below, with notes for home cooking.
Ingredients
- Cabbage leaves (large) 8
- Mixed ground beef and pork 300 g
- Onion 1/2 (100 g)
- Panko breadcrumbs 4 tbsp
- Milk 3 tbsp
- Egg 1
- Salt 1/2 tsp
- Pepper and nutmeg a pinch each
- Bacon (optional) 2 slices
- Water 500 ml
- Consommé granules 2 tsp
- Bay leaf 1
- Salt and pepper (to finish) a pinch each
- Parsley (chopped) a little
Steps
- Cut around the core of the cabbage and peel off the leaves one at a time while running water into the hole of the core. Boil them in plenty of water for 2–3 minutes until soft, drain and let cool. Shave the thick ribs of the leaves thin with a knife and finely chop the shaved ribs.
- Finely chop the onion. Soak the panko in the milk.
- Put the ground meat and salt in a bowl and knead well until sticky. Add the onion, chopped cabbage ribs, soaked panko, egg, pepper and nutmeg, mix further, divide into 8 portions and shape into logs.
- Spread out a cabbage leaf and place the filling near the rib end. Roll once from the near side, fold the left and right sides inward, and roll up tightly to the end. Set seam side down.
- Pack the cabbage rolls seam side down in a pot just big enough to hold them without gaps. Cut the bacon into thin strips and scatter it in the gaps.
- Add the water, consommé and bay leaf and heat over medium. When it boils, skim off the scum, cover with a drop lid and the pot lid, and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper. Serve in bowls with plenty of soup and sprinkle with parsley.
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Notes
Packing the rolls tightly in the pot keeps them from falling apart and from unrolling even without toothpicks. If there are gaps, roll up leftover cabbage and stuff it in.
For a tomato version, reduce the water to 300 ml and add 1 can (400 g) of chopped tomatoes.
With tender spring cabbage, shorten the boiling time; about 20 minutes of simmering is enough.
Left overnight, the cabbage soaks up the soup and tastes even better. It can also be frozen.
Origin and history
Roru kyabetsu (cabbage rolls) are seasoned ground meat wrapped in boiled cabbage leaves and simmered in soup.
Dishes of meat wrapped in cabbage or other leaves and simmered have long existed in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Scandinavia, with many relatives such as Turkish dolma and Polish golabki. They were introduced to Japan as Western cuisine in the Meiji era and later spread as yoshoku that is easy to make at home.
In Japan, the classics are rolls simmered in a light consommé soup, in tomato or in cream, and cabbage rolls are sometimes even added to oden. In spring-cabbage season they turn out soft and sweet; in winter they are simmered thoroughly into a warming dish. It is a home-style Western dish to enjoy in every season.