Microwave Steam Savoy Cabbage

I use a microwave to steam Savoy cabbage, or any cabbage!  It’s quick, taking just 2-3 minutes, easy and doesn’t create any steam.

You can have cooked cabbage in under 4 minutes from start to finish if you need to move that fast.

Method: 

1. Remove any outer leaves you don’t like the look of, or simply don’t fancy – if you like those too, then you can keep them but just give the outside leaves a quick rinse through under the tap to remove any surface dust/grime.
2. Cut out the stalk part of the cabbage, just cutting it straight across is good enough, you don’t need to cut out any of the solid white stalk part that goes up the centre of the cabbage.
3. Cut the cabbage into half and place it cut side down into your steamer, microwave steamer, or microwave safe dish.  Add a little hot water to the steamer or dish (if I’m using just a Pyrex bowl I’d put about ¼” of water in the bottom), you’re steaming, not boiling.  Place any lid on the steamer, or if you’re using a bowl cover with a vented lid or clingfilm with a couple of holes poked in it to let excess steam escape.
4. Microwave on full power (800 watts) for 2 minutes, let the cabbage rest for 1 minute as it’ll continue to steam.  Test that the centre is cooked, if not it might need steaming for just another 30-60 seconds – we all like cabbage slightly differently when it comes to “crunch or not”.
5. Shred or slice the cabbage, as required

Note: Cabbage Changes Colour After Cooked

When you first steam the cabbage it will appear bright green – as it cools, over the following 4-5 minutes, the colour will dull to a darker green.  This is normal and natural.  The photo below shows two cabbage halves microwaved just 3-4 minutes apart:

Tips:

• If you’re cooking cabbage to freeze, then just steam the cabbage for about 1 minute, then remove it and drunk it into very cold/iced water before shaking chopping (if required) and freezing.  To cook/use this you can microwave from frozen in 2-3 minutes in a covered dish.
• Store the cooked cabbage in an airtight container in the fridge and it’ll be fine to eat for 2-3 days.
• If your dish is too small for both halves of the cabbage, do them one after the other and re-use the original water, there’s no need to change the water.