What is the difference of flavors between chinese cabbage and common cabbage?

Question

Will it ruin the flavor of chinese cusine if you use regular cabbage?

Answer 1

Chinese cabbage, or bok choy, is not so different in taste, but in texture. In most chinese cooking, the delicate stems of the bok choy add a crisp textue, wile the trimmed leaf still attached to the stem is a visual enhancement to the dish.

I am part chinese, and was raised cooking many different schools of chinese cooking.

As far as taste goes, regular head cabbage will be fine in any chinese receipe, but for authenticity, and appearance is a big thing in oriental cooking, bok choy is best.

Another type of cabbage widely available today that works well is Napa...

Answer 2

Chinese cabbage has a bit more mild flavor and is easily and deliciously used in dishes that are both raw or quickly and lightly cooked like a wok/saute dish. Regular cabbage is a bit more dense in both flavor and texture, requires extra time to cook and would probably not produce with desired result with Chinese cuisine...it also produces a lot of water/condensation with cooking so it would make more liquid in your preparation pan. I love regular cabbage just steamed or boiled; or try it quartered into wedges and brown on both cut sides with butter then add chicken broth and cover to complete cooking...so flavorful!

Answer 3

i know because im part Chinese and seen my mom use it almost every week. Chinese cabbage is pretty tasty and sweet, rather than a little bitter like regular cabbage. I believe regular cabbage takes longer to be soft than Chinese cabbage. It rly is irreplaceable, and is a very different vegetable. The only reason they call it Chinese "cabbage" is because Chinese people use it as often as western people use cabbage. If you have a local asian mart they definitely have it. heres how you identify it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_cabbage

Answer 4

American cabbage round, mild. Chinese, long, more flavor, use it alot.

Answer 5

don't know.