This Pork and Cabbage with Spicy Tahini Sauce is one of the new recipes in the revised edition of our bestselling cookbook, The Whole30 Fast & Easy. Featuring hearty and delicious skillet meals, sheet-pan suppers, slow-cooker dinners, and cozy noodle bowls, The Whole30 Fast & Easy Cookbook, Revised Edition features dishes anyone can make. You’ll also find 35 all-new recipes in this updated version, all of which have simple ingredients, fast prep, easy clean-up, and time-saving tips.
This quick and satisfying dish layers tender, garlicky ground pork over lightly wilted Napa cabbage. These simple whole-food ingredients are brought to life with a bold, creamy tahini sauce kissed with a bit of heat (or more, if you like spice). As usual, all of the recipes in The Whole30 Fast & Easy are gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, soy-free, peanut-free, and free from added sugar.
Tip
If you’re using chicken for this, 100% ground chicken thigh is the closest in fat content to ground pork (which is usually 15% to 16% fat). In a pinch, you could use ground chicken made from a mix of white and dark meat, which is 7% or 8% fat. (It will be labeled 92% or 93% lean.) Don’t use ground chicken breast here, which is usually about 99% lean, as your chicken will end up dry.
Photo credit: Ghazalle Badiozamani
Ingredients
FOR THE SAUCE
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Whole30 Whole30-compatible sriracha
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
FOR THE CABBAGE AND PORK
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small head Napa cabbage thinly sliced
- 1 pound ground pork or ground chicken thigh (see Tip above)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 green onions sliced
- 2 teaspoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- Toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
Make the sauce:
- COMBINE the tahini, vinegar, sriracha, onion powder, sesame oil, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
Cook the cabbage:
- HEAT 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high hea in a large skillett.
- USING tongs, add the cabbage in batches and cook just until wilted, about 2 minutes. Transfer the batches of to a large bowl as you cook.
Make the pork:
- HEAT the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil in the same skillet.
- ADD the pork, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until partially cooked, about 4 minutes.
- ADD the green onions and continue to cook until the meat is no longer pink and fully cooked through, about 3 more minutes.
- STIR in the vinegar, lemon zest, and sesame oil.
To serve:
- DIVIDE the cabbage among four plates or shallow bowls and top with the pork mixture.
- DRIZZLE with the spicy tahini sauce, sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds, and serve.
