Can Cabbage Be Eaten Raw? Things to Note Before Eating It Raw

Cabbage, also known as head cabbage, white cabbage, bao cai, and so on, is a biennial herbaceous plant of the genus Brassica in the crucifer family. It originated in the Mediterranean region and is now widely cultivated throughout both northern and southern China. Cabbage is rich in various trace elements and compounds beneficial to the human body, making it a king of nutrition, so some friends may wonder, can cabbage be eaten raw?

1. Can Cabbage Be Eaten Raw

Cabbage can be eaten raw. The practice of eating cabbage raw is very popular abroad, as it does an excellent job of preventing the loss of nutrients. However, raw cabbage does not taste very good; without seasoning it is almost hard to swallow, so it is generally considered best to blanch it in hot water before eating. In addition, before eating it raw, the cabbage must be cleaned thoroughly and soaked in water for a good while to guard against pesticide residue.

There are many varieties of cabbage, with common ones including curly kale, head cabbage, kohlrabi, and broccoli. Regularly eating cabbage is hugely beneficial for building strength and boosting the body's vitality. Specifically, the effects of eating cabbage on the human body include: maintaining health and strengthening the immune system, treating skin diseases and tumors, supplementing fiber as well as various minerals and trace elements, and reducing inflammation and relieving pain.

2. Common Cabbage Dishes

Cabbage has a very long history of being eaten, and the ways of preparing it are very diverse. When eating it raw, you can make cold-tossed cabbage, and when stir-frying, there is hand-torn cabbage and so on. The specific method for cold-tossed cabbage is to pull the cabbage apart leaf by leaf, soak it in water for half an hour, then fish it out; at the same time, wash the cabbage and the tofu skin, cut them into shreds, then fry up a batch of scallion oil, and once it has cooled to lukewarm, pour it over the shredded tofu skin and cabbage, then add minced garlic, white vinegar, white sugar, and salt, mix well, and it is ready to eat.

Hand-torn cabbage is in fact what we usually call hand-torn bao cai. The specific method is to tear the cabbage by hand, wash it, and let it dry, then heat a wok and add oil, pour in the cabbage and stir-fry over high heat, pressing it down as you stir, using a massage technique like that for teppanyaki squid; after stir-frying for a while, add oyster sauce and salt, and you can also add an appropriate amount of sugar instead of MSG; once stir-fried evenly, it can be taken out of the wok.