STUFFED NAPA CABBAGE SOUP

Combine the ground pork, mushrooms, onions, soy sauce, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and 1 teaspoon sugar in a small bowl and massage everything together with your hands until well combined.  Set aside.

Place the chicken stock and water in Dutch oven or stock pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a low boil and add the scallion greens.  Blanch for 1 minute until limp.  Remove with tongs and set aside.  Add the cabbage leaves to the broth and blanch these for 2-3 minutes until they soften and are pliable.  This timing will vary depending on the size of the leaves.  Remove and set aside to cool with the scallion greens.  Turn the heat off under the stock until you are ready to finish the soup.

Form about 1 ½ – 2 tablespoons of the pork mixture into a small log and place it at the thicker end (root end) of one of the blanched cabbage leaves.  Roll the leaf, burrito style, toward the tip of the leaf, folding in the sides about halfway up, creating a small bundle.  Tie the bundle with one of the scallion green ‘strings’ in a double knot around the center of the bundle to hold it together.  Repeat with the remaining leaves.  This will use up a little more than half of the pork filling.  Make small meatballs, about 1-1 ½” in diameter with the remaining filling.

Bring the stock back to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Add the remaining salt, black pepper, and sugar to the pot along with the fish sauce.  Stir to combine.  Place the cabbage rolls and meatballs in the pot and cover.  Let cook for 15-20 minutes until the internal temperature of the pork in the cabbage rolls is 165 degrees.  Serve hot in bowls.