Authors: Cobaia Kitchen, Grok 4, Claude 4.0 Sonnet
Photos: Cobaia Kitchen, GPT Image 1
Here’s how this recipe came to be. We found ourselves in a classic kitchen dilemma, staring down half a head of Chinese cabbage that was one day away from becoming a sad, wilted resident of the compost bin. To avoid the food waste guilt, we decided to get creative and outsource the thinking. We turned to our trusty AI assistant, Grok 4, with a specific challenge. The prompt was straightforward: create a delicious, plant-based meal with a low carbon footprint using our leftover cabbage, some rice, and a few other pantry staples we had lying around. We explicitly told it to avoid cuisines we’d tried recently and ingredients we weren’t fond of. What it came up with was this unexpectedly vibrant Malaysian-style bowl. It’s a perfect example of how a simple prompt to an AI can solve the age-old “what’s for dinner?” problem and turn potential food waste into a genuinely exciting meal.
Please read the review before cooking!
Malaysian Cabbage and Mushroom Rice Bowl
Equipment
- Wok with lid
- Pot with lid
- cutting board
- knives
- garlic press
- Wooden spoon
- Measuring cup
Ingredients
- 240 g jasmine rice uncooked, rinsed
- 450 g Chinese cabbage shredded
- 150 g champignons sliced
- 150 g onion 1 medium, diced
- 15 g garlic 3 cloves, minced
- 10 g ginger fresh, grated
- 30 ml soy sauce
- 30 ml sesame oil roasted
- 30 g spring onions sliced
- 30 g cashews chopped
Instructions
- Rinse 240g jasmine rice under cold water until clear, then add to a pot with 480ml water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 12 minutes until tender; fluff and set aside.
- While rice cooks, shred 450g Chinese cabbage into thin strips using a knife on the cutting board.
- Slice 150g champignons thinly.
- Dice 150g onion into small pieces.
- Mince 15g garlic using the garlic press.
- Grate 10g ginger finely.
- Slice 30g spring onions into thin rings.
- Chop 30g cashews roughly.
- Heat 30ml sesame oil in the wok over medium heat, add diced onion, minced garlic, and grated ginger; stir-fry for 2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add sliced champignons and shredded Chinese cabbage to the wok; stir-fry for 5 minutes until cabbage wilts.
- Pour in 30ml soy sauce and add chopped cashews; stir for another 3 minutes to combine flavors.
- Mix in cooked jasmine rice and sliced spring onions; stir-fry for 2 minutes to heat through.
Notes
Serving suggestions:
- Gluten (from wheat in soy sauce)
- Soybeans (from soy sauce)
- Nuts, specifically cashews
- Sesame seeds (from sesame oil)
Emission Hotspots:
- The rice represent the recipe’s primary carbon emission hotspot due to rice cultivation’s methane-intensive paddy farming
- Shop to home transportation, if a combustion car is used
Sustainability tips:
- Choose seasonal vegetables: Using what’s in season not only reduces the carbon footprint but also supports local agriculture and ensures peak freshness.
- Use up veggies: If you have vegetables in your fridge that are nearing their prime (like broccoli, or baby corn), add them to prevent waste and boost nutrition.
- Walk or bike to the supermarket and farmer’s market to cut transportation emissions
- Cook the rice in a rice cooker (e.g. the Reishunger Digital Reiskocher) to save some energy
- Save the water used to rinse rice for watering plants. Rice water contains essential plant nutrients that can help support growth and development
- Your guinea pigs 🐹 may not be the biggest fan of cabbage, but they might eat a small amount of leftover leaves.
Carbon Footprint
Featured Story
The Case of the Bavarian Blackout
Inspector Aminah Lim stared at the crime scene with the kind of professional confusion that comes from fifteen years of solving Munich’s strangest cases. Hans Gruber lay unconscious in his apartment hallway, clutching what appeared to be a homemade electrical device that had clearly seen better days. The power to the entire building had been knocked out, and three neighbors were trapped in the elevator, probably wondering why they’d chosen to live in a building where the landlord thought “modern electrical systems” were just a suggestion. “Mein Gott,” whispered Sergeant Mueller, stepping carefully around the scattered tools and wire fragments. “What was he trying to build, a time machine?”
The investigation led them straight to Dimitri Volkov, Hans’s upstairs neighbor, who sat in the interrogation room looking like he’d rather be anywhere else on the planet. “You don’t understand, Inspector,” Dimitri pleaded, his Russian accent thick with desperation. “I was just trying to fix my refrigerator compressor! The stupid thing kept making noise all night, driving Hans crazy downstairs. He kept banging on the ceiling with a broom!” Aminah raised an eyebrow that had mastered the art of conveying skepticism across multiple crime scenes. Apparently, Hans had decided that if Dimitri wouldn’t fix his noisy appliance, he’d take matters into his own hands by attempting some DIY electrical work that would make any certified electrician run screaming.
The truth emerged like a bad sitcom plot: Hans had tried to install some kind of “noise-canceling device” directly into the building’s electrical panel, armed with nothing but YouTube tutorials and dangerous levels of confidence. The confrontation happened when Dimitri came downstairs to apologize and found Hans elbow-deep in exposed wiring, wielding tools like he was performing surgery. The argument that followed involved a lot of shouting about “proper electrical procedures” and “why didn’t you just call a professional,” which ended abruptly when Hans grabbed the wrong wire and turned himself into a human light bulb. Dimitri, panicking, had tried to help but only managed to knock over a bag of groceries, leaving a sad head of Chinese cabbage rolling across the floor as the only witness to the electrical disaster.
Inspector Lim closed the case file with the satisfaction of someone who’d solved yet another Munich mystery that defied all logic. She made a mental note to check her own apartment’s electrical work and maybe invest in some good earplugs. After all, if this case taught her anything, it’s that some problems are better left to professionals, and Chinese cabbage makes a terrible witness—it just sits there looking judgmental and refusing to testify.
Culinary Reality Check
We whipped this up in the kitchen, hoping for a winner from our AI brainstorm, but it turned out more like that one friend who shows up to the party with good intentions yet somehow leaves everyone politely nodding. Solid effort on paper, easy enough to throw together without breaking a sweat, but let’s just say it’s not earning a spot in our regular rotation—think of it as the reliable but forgettable sidekick in your meal lineup.
Taste
Decent enough to get the job done, landing squarely in that middle ground where nothing offends but nothing thrills either—like a polite handshake instead of a high-five.
Portion Size
We aimed for three portions and nailed it with generous heaps that filled us up without turning into a leftovers nightmare, though maybe dial it back if you’re not feeding a small army.
Combination
It hangs together okay, but feels a tad monotonous without much excitement or real protein punch beyond those skimpy cashews; visually, it’s a bit of a dud too, especially if your soy sauce is the dark, brooding type that muddies everything up.
Texture
Passable with a sticky vibe that clings a little too much—switching to basmati might give it that fluffier lift and save it from feeling like gluey rice pudding gone wrong.
Spices
Way too tame for our liking, screaming for a flavor boost; we ended up rescuing it with an extra three tablespoons of teriyaki and a dash of pepper to wake things up from their bland slumber.
Timing
Spot-on with the estimates, clocking in right where promised, though tossing the rice into a cooker stretched the total a smidge longer—still no big drama.
Processing
Instructions were a breeze to follow, straightforward as a walk in the park, no head-scratchers or kitchen disasters in sight.
Completeness
Those cashews are trying their best as protein heroes but fall hilariously short; the whole thing begs for a fresh sidekick like cucumber or a crisp salad to liven up the party.
Environment
Rice bumps up the carbon tally a notch, yet the dish still scrapes by with a solid B rating—decent for the planet, if not exactly a green superstar.
Health
This bowl ticks a lot of boxes for health and the planet by keeping things fully plant-based, calorie-moderate, and loaded with good fats. A few smart swaps like whole-grain rice, some legumes, and extra veggies would push it straight into EAT-Lancet gold-star territory, ramping up the nutrients without sacrificing the vibe.
Tips for Redemption
- Crank up the excitement with more soy sauce, a teriyaki splash, and some pepper or chili flakes for that missing kick
- Go for a lighter soy to keep the looks appealing
- If you’ve got leftover cabbage staring you down, maybe scout a recipe with more zing next time.
