Chuan Fu’s dry pot cabbage is a popular Chinese comfort food often associated with Hunan and Sichuan cuisine, according to owner Joyce Cai.
Filled with garlic and dried chili peppers, the special feature of this dish is that the cabbage is torn by hand rather than cut with a knife.
“Dry pot doesn’t mean dry,” says Kai, whose Winter Park restaurant was added to the Michelin Guide Orlando recommendation in 2024. “That means there’s little to no sauce, so all the flavor is tied directly to the ingredients.”
This is clearly the perfect dish for National Cabbage Month (which actually includes Brussels sprouts, which are their smaller, rounder, and much easier to roast cousins). It’s one of the many delicious foods available around town when you’re looking for something low in calories and nutritious.
For this reason, cabbage is popular among people trying to eat healthier or slim down, so much so that a week of crash diets is based on cabbage intake.
I love cabbage soup, but I much prefer going to Chuan Fu for what Tsai calls the “irresistible Guo Qi flavor” of the dried pot cabbage.
“When stir-fried over very high heat in a wok, it gives off a slightly burnt, smoky aroma known as guo qi. Guo means ‘wok.’ Qi is the same as “air” or “steam.” The edges of the cabbage are a little crunchy, and it has a subtle sweetness and deep flavor. ”
While I don’t support a cabbage-only nutritional program for healthy weight loss, I fully support cabbage itself as a delicious, wholesome, crunchy, and comforting part of the texture as part of a healthy, balanced eating plan. Here are some local dishes you should check out.
Chuan Fu: 1035 N. Orlando Ave., in Winter Park, 321-972-3606; chuanfuWinterpark.com
Nari’s kimchi
“Kimchi is not only healthy but also very delicious,” says Nari Park.
As the local maker behind Nari’s Kimchi, she may seem biased, but she has literally thousands of years of history to back it up.
A variety of vegetables are used to accompany this delightfully fermented Korean dish, but cabbage (usually Napa) is probably the most common.
Kimchi is complex, spicy, and delicious. It’s painful. It’s sour. The more it ferments, the more tangy and crunchy it will become. And of course, all these properties can change depending on the material combination.
“It goes very well with other foods and is loved by many people from different cultures,” Park said, noting that she cannot live without Chinese cabbage and that it is a wonderfully versatile and nutritious leafy vegetable.
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“It’s rich in vitamins C, K, and folic acid, so it’s great for bone health. Its high water content makes it moisturizing, crunchy, and has a mild, sweet flavor.”
I like kimchi on everything from avocado toast to tuna fish sandwiches to hot dogs, but where can you find Nari’s kimchi other than in the fridge?
More information: Pick up your jar at ChiKin, 813 N. Mills Ave., Orlando. order.toasttab.com/online/chi-kin-813-north-mills-avenue, or Soul Boll, 5845 Vineland Road, Winter Garden, Windermere. soulbol.com. You can also contact Park directly via social media at @snparkrealtor319 on Instagram. Her prices range from $7 bottles to full gallons. (Many area restaurants buy it in 5-gallon buckets.)
Amy Drew Thompson / Orlando Sentinel
Golubci (stuffed cabbage) is handmade daily in Lacomca. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
Lacomca Bakery & Store
Eastern Europe doesn’t have any special restrictions on cabbage, but they definitely use it well. You can also pick up some homemade golubtsi at Lacomca Bakery & Store, whose shelves are stocked with beautiful products purchased from the Bloc countries (as well as a deli/dessert case) and see exactly what I mean.
Packed with meat, rice, vegetables, and grandma-level goodness, these delicate cabbage rolls are sure to satisfy.
Sit in the store’s small cafe and sample this and other treasures before browsing the store, which features goods from Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Georgia, Belarus, Poland, Serbia, and more. Co-owner David Natolia said 30% of the products come from Russia and 30% from Ukraine.
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“The rest falls all over the place.”
Buy some frozen khinkali from your hometown of Georgia to take home. If you’re looking for something Polish, you can also visit Anna’s Polish Deli and Europol Deli in Winter Park.
Lacomka Bakery & Store: 2050 FL-436 in Winter Park, 407-677-1101;LacomkaOrlando.com
June
“I’m a Polish boy, so I grew up with cabbage in various forms from an early age,” says June Executive Chef Jason Campbell. “I like that it multitasks. I can stew it, make soups, make golbkis and cabbage rolls, and make sauerkraut. It’s versatile.”
June’s dish uses leftover cabbage stems from other menus, simmers them in browned butter, and tops them with whipped onion cream.
“I first brown it really well on the grill, then simmer it in butter in vegetable stock until tender,” he explains.
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Once cool, slice into thick, long ribbons before creating a cast-iron char and visiting your grill’s smokebox. Top with roasted garlic onion cream.
“The texture is good. It’s still chewy,” Campbell said. “Rich flavor, very smoky.”
He said similar dishes often use meats like bacon, speck or sausage to add smoke, but using a grill keeps the dish strictly vegetarian.
“And sometimes there are long pieces that you can actually twirl around.”
So, yeah. That’s fun too.
June: 700 E. Washington St. in Orlando, 321-206-1243. JuneOrlando.com
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