I’m sure it would be fine. It’ll just be a cabbage and carrot salad. There’s no need to waste it even if you don’t make slaw. You can make a salad with vinaigrette, stir fry it, braise it in wedges or steam.

maybe ferment a small jar of sauerkraut?

I like to use small amounts of Napa cabbage in a stir-fry, with other vegetables and some egg. I fry the white part first and add the green part at the end. I always add sesame seeds or toasted sesame oil, but I do the frying in grape seed oil.

Thanks for the responses, but it's not how do I use the cabbage but where the ruffly leaves will be good in cole slaw, I'm guessing from what y'all are saying that no one knows. :)

Thanks, Sleevendog, for the pics of the other slaws. One I haven't perfected yet was based on something a local joint had, with green and purple cabbage cut hair thin, with chopped peanuts, sesame seeds and a vinegar dressing. My first try, the dressing was too assertive and not wet enough, though I found some wonderful peanuts that were truly cooked and seasoned in the shell. Just now, however, I want to make a small amount of traditional coleslaw, like my mother's, and happen to have the little napa cabbage on hand. I'll just buy another cabbage for it.

I think we’ve been trying to respond to this part of your post “It would be a shame to waste my cute little cabbage” with ideas for using it if you decide against slaw. That sounded as if you felt that if slaw didn’t work there was nothing else to do with it. But perhaps you meant you feared it might be wasted in slaw .

That's cool. I was just surprised by the question being how you are always creative with recipes. I like my mother's JoyofCooking slaw, potato salad, and deviled eggs. We have access to so many more varieties of vegetables and condiments now than they had in the 60's-70's so i have to explore a more modern approach.

Big difference here. My salad/slaws i've been testing the past couple weeks are for NewYorker friends. For the up-coming 4th weekend. Both our families are not close in proximinty. All over the country.

Baby napa i think is still sturdy enough for slaw. Much more sturdy than delicate salad greens. Just maybe not for a 'made-a-day-or-two-ahead' slaw.

Was just answering the question presented---yes, it is fine for a slaw.

I'm guessing from what y'all are saying that no one knows. :)

I do know that it is fine for a slaw as many others do as well.

I made a loaded potato salad for my parents recently. They loved it but did not know why it was so good. --Mother stopped cooking a few years ago. Dad does his best.

Mostly microwave meals. I fill their freezer with lots of choices but they tend to save them for special occasions, 🙄.

I would just grill it

Sorry for the confusion everybody!

Floral, what I meant was that I didn't want to shred the little napa, find it was too soft for cole slaw and have it be wasted that way. Your suggestions for other things to do were fine for an intact cabbage. ;)

I'm still not feeding the mobs like pre-pandenic, and have no use for two slaws at the same time.

Sleevendog, thank-you for the expressed opionion about the coleslaw. That clears things up!

I make a slaw using a small napa, green onions with crushed ramen noodles toasted with sliced almonds, sesame seeds and an Asian dressing.

Shredded could still be stir fried if you found it too soft for coleslaw. Or made into some other salad. Shredded cabbage would keep several days in the fridge in a plastic bag. No need to throw it out even after it’s shredded.

You could make one helping of slaw and do something else with the rest!

ROTFL!