Pickled mustard green or 'ham choy' is one crucial food for the Northern population in China especially during winter. Pickling vegetables is also the only way to keep the food stock up through winter. The Northern Chinese preserved almost all kind of vegetables for winter including radish & cabbage. But pickled mustard is now very common in many Asian cultures. It can be used in almost all sort of cooking from stir fried to boiling soup. But before that I'm really excited to find out how it is done. Come on, let's follow me.
Ingredients :
1+ kg
mustard greens (gai choy), rinsed & drained
70gm salt
*one glass jar with lid and a plastic sheet & rubber band
Brining Ingredients :
2 Litre water
2 tbsp salt
a few slices of galangal (blue ginger)
1/4 tspn turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp rice flour (mix with some water)
Method :
(1) cut mustard greens into half, rub salt in between the leaves and stem then set aside for about 6 hours to draw out the moisture.
(2) at the other hand, bring water to boil together with all other brining ingredients. Then set aside to cool before used.
(3) now, as you can see those vegetables has became softened. Squeeze moisture from the mustard greens and then pack them into jar.
(4) then pour cooled brining solution into the jar to keep those mustard greens covered. You can either place in a ceramic bowl or any heavy object to submerge the greens fully.
(5) finally, cover the top with plastic sheet & tide it up with rubber band, then cover by lid and set aside to in a cool place to ferment for 5-7 days.
(6) check the greens everyday, skim off the whitish bloom that appears on the surface if there's any.
(7) once it's ready, discard brining water and withdraw mustard greens without squeezing out the liquid. Wrap it in a plastic sheet and keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 months time.
Now, this mustard green is ready to use. So, any idea what to eat ? Hmmmm...mm...I want 'ham choy' soup, stir fried 'ham choy' with vegetables.....and many more. Can't wait to try it !
