Japanese · side, sauce
Hakusai-zuke (Japanese Salt-Pickled Napa Cabbage)
Video by Miwa's Japanese Cooking on YouTube · Open on YouTube
- Low carb (1.1 g net carbs) but not keto: 12% of the energy is from fat, and keto meals get about 60% or more
- Vegan
- Gluten-free ingredients
- Nut-free
Contains: none of the common allergens in the listed ingredients. Check labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes.
Crunchy, refreshing and almost calorie-free — about 8 kcal a ¼-cup serve — with some vitamin K and no sugar or vinegar. Salted at 2%, it has about 400 mg sodium a serve.
The printable card is ink-friendly, fits on one page and has a QR code back to this recipe.
Ingredients 4
Method
Tap a time to watch that step in the video.
- Rinse the cabbage, pat it dry and cut it into large pieces (it shrinks a lot). For extra sweetness you can first dry the pieces in the sun for 2–3 hours. 0:25
- Put the cabbage in a large zip-top bag, add salt at 2% of its weight (10 g for 500 g) and massage for about 5 minutes until it softens and releases water. 1:21
- Add the kombu strips and the chopped chilli (it helps preserve the pickles, so don't skip it) and massage again. 2:47
- Press out the air and seal the bag, opening upwards. Lay it on a tray, cover with another tray and a weight of about 2 kg, and refrigerate. 3:28
- After 2 days, when plenty of liquid has come out and small bubbles show it has fermented, it is ready. Keep it in the fridge and eat within a week. 4:40
Tip. Makes about 500 g, roughly 10 quarter-cup serves (our estimate). Keep the salt at 2% of the cabbage weight (the video used 13 g for 650 g). Add thin strips of yuzu peel with the kombu if you like.
The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.
One portion, ¼ cup (50 g), gives you 1 of 10
Where the energy comes from one serve
- Net carbs 57%
- Protein 31%
- Fat 12%
For comparison, low-carb eating usually gets under 26% of its energy from carbs, and ketogenic eating under 10%. Why this is here
Vitamins & minerals % of a day, one serve · tap for more
Vitamin K Source18%
22 µg a serve, mostly from napa cabbage (100%). Needed for blood clotting and bones. Leafy greens and herbs are very rich in it. If you take warfarin, keep your intake steady and talk to your doctor.
Vitamin C Source15%
14 mg a serve, mostly from napa cabbage (100%). An antioxidant needed for collagen, immunity and iron absorption. Long cooking destroys some, so raw herbs, citrus and capsicum help.
Folate Source10%
42 µg a serve, mostly from napa cabbage (95%). Needed to make DNA and new cells — especially important before and in early pregnancy. Legumes and leafy greens are rich sources.
Show the other 12
Vitamin B67%
0.1 mg a serve, mostly from napa cabbage (97%). Helps turn food into energy and make brain messengers. Chickpeas, fish, poultry, potatoes and bananas are good sources.
Potassium3%
120 mg a serve, mostly from napa cabbage (98%). Balances sodium to help control blood pressure and keeps muscles and nerves working. Beans, potatoes, leafy greens and fruit are rich sources.
Calcium3%
40 mg a serve, mostly from napa cabbage (96%). Builds bones and teeth and helps muscles and nerves work. Dairy, calcium-set tofu, sardines with their bones and some greens supply it.
Magnesium2%
7.7 mg a serve, mostly from napa cabbage (84%). Takes part in hundreds of reactions — energy, muscles, nerves, blood sugar and bones. Nuts, seeds, legumes and whole grains are good sources.
Iron1%
0.2 mg a serve, mostly from napa cabbage (81%). Carries oxygen in your blood. Iron from plants absorbs better with vitamin C in the same meal — lemon, tomato or capsicum.
Zinc1%
0.1 mg a serve, mostly from napa cabbage (94%). Needed for immunity, wound healing, taste and growth. Meat, seafood, legumes, seeds and whole grains supply it.
Vitamin A1%
9.2 µg a serve, mostly from napa cabbage (87%). Keeps eyes, skin and the immune system healthy. Orange vegetables and dark greens give beta-carotene, which the body turns into vitamin A.
Selenium1%
0.3 µg a serve, mostly from napa cabbage (97%). Part of the body's antioxidant enzymes and needed for thyroid hormones. Seafood, eggs, meat and Brazil nuts are rich sources.
Omega-31%
0 g a serve, mostly from napa cabbage (91%). Omega-3 fats support the heart and brain. Oily fish give EPA and DHA; walnuts, flax, chia and canola give ALA, which the body converts only a little.
Vitamin D0%
0 µg a serve. Helps you absorb calcium for bones and supports muscles. Few foods have much — oily fish, eggs, UV-exposed mushrooms, fortified milks. Sunlight is the main source.
Vitamin E0%
0.1 mg a serve, mostly from napa cabbage (86%). An antioxidant that protects cell membranes. Nuts, seeds and plant oils such as olive oil are the main sources.
Vitamin B120%
0 µg a serve. Keeps nerves and blood cells healthy. Found almost only in animal foods and fortified foods (some plant milks, nutritional yeast), so vegans need a reliable source.
Estimated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central values; % of a day uses the food-label daily values. How this works
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Recipe and video by Miwa's Japanese Cooking; the method summary, nutrition estimate and diet notes are Notbroken’s. General information about food, not dietary advice.