Crazy for pickles 泡黄瓜

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Before moving here a decade ago I hugely underestimated Chinese love of pickles 泡菜。Fortunately, it was not a fatal mistake. Pickled vegetables of some sort are served with nearly every meal, including a nice salty-spicy dish of them with your porridge 粥 for breakfast. It's always risky to generalize, but this holds pretty much true from the frosty northeast 东北 to the humid sub-tropics of Canton 广州。

 

It's definitely true in Yunnan, where the predominant style of pickling is the one developed in neighboring Sichuan: namely long, slow fermentation in special crockery and glass jars with a water-seal lip that allows gas to escape while denying entry to stray unwanted bacteria. Not only are a wide assortment of vegetables transformed in this way, but the process is applied to such diverse ingredients as lake crabs and chicken feet. 

 

Some Chinese pickles are closer to being a relish or a chutney than they are to my usual mental image of a pickle: a big Kosher Dill carefully fished out of a wooden barrel at the old corner Deli, one block over from P.S. 106, Bronx, New York, circa 1950. Yunnan also has a truly perverse love affair with pickled fruit. One frequently sees street vendors selling small pickled pears and plums. They taste of anise, cinnamon and clove; right beside strong notes of chili, garlic and ginger. 

 

Some pickles are eaten raw, others are used as ingredients in cooking. Pickled greens 泡菜/酸菜 are often combined with fish and meat. (Recipe for pickled greens with fish slices here: https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/51433-yunnan-spicy-fish-酸菜鱼片/) (And here's one for pickled greens with pork loin: https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/47975-suancai-chao-rou-酸菜炒肉/) 

 

In the warmer months of the year, we are fortunate to have several varieties of cucumber here in Kunming, all of which invite pickling. I've been turning out at least one batch a week for the last few months. Thought I would show you how to make them yourself in case you have a "pickle tooth" too. Sometimes I use carrots, radish, bell peppers and even cauliflower, but today we will be sticking to cucumbers. (The method adapts easily to other vegetables if you prefer them.) 

 

This morning at the local wet market I found two of the three main kinds of local cucumbers: the long thin ones with bumpy skin (sometimes called "Japanese cucumbers,"） and the shorter stout ones with smoother light skin (sometimes called "pickling cucumbers.") A third kind that is smaller than either of these, with dark smooth skin, might have been present somewhere, but I didn't run across them and had no particular reason to seek them out. Those are sometimes called "Persian cucumbers."

 

  (Remember, you can click the photos to enlarge them.) 

 

The kind on the right in this photo are the ones that work best for "smashed cucumber salad" 拍黄瓜。(Recipe for that here: https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/53783-another-simple-classic-smashed-cucumber-拍黄瓜/?tab=comments#comment-412400) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The big ones on the left are the kind I bought this morning to turn into pickles. These two varieties cost approximately the same. The smaller, "gherkin-sized" ones, cost a little more. In selecting a fresh cucumber, regardless of size, nothing works as well as a gentle squeeze test. It should feel firm, without much give. If it's soft, that means it's old. These local cucumbers don't need to be peeled. The surface isn't bitter and they haven't been sprayed with wax or oils like they are in some US supermarkets. 

 

The recipe I'm using for these today is one that originated in Fujian and is popular in Taiwan as well. It made its way to Guangdong and Hong Kong, but isn't terribly popular here in Kunming. It's a "Quick Pickle" that doesn't require much time. It's also not terribly salty or sour: very well balanced, at least for my palate. 

 

     

 

Scrub the cucumbers and slice them into rounds about a half an inch thick (2 cm or so.) Don't peel them and don't remove the seeds. Notice that these have nice looking centers; if they were  past their prime, the centers would have larger seeds and a network of large empty spaces. Peel the garlic 独蒜 and smash it into chunks, scrub the ginger 老姜 and slice it thickly, unpeeled. Cut the hot pepper 小米辣 into thirds and remove some of the seeds if you want to decrease the heat.

 

The dry orange peel 橙皮 is optional, but the dried licorice root 甘草 is very strongly suggested. It adds a distinctive note and the resulting taste would definitely be less interesting without it. You can buy it in Chinese herbal pharmacies if your grocery store doesn't stock it. 

 

For each large pickle combine 2 tablespoons of soy sauce 生抽, two tablespoons of aged vinegar 老陈醋, and two tablespoons of white rice vinegar白醋. Add one tablespoon of sugar 白砂糖 and one teaspoon of salt 食盐 per batch. Do not add water. As the pickles marinate, they will release some of their own flavor-laden moisture. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Put everything in a saucepan and boil it for one only one minute over low to medium heat. Remove it from the flame and let the pickles cool in this liquid. You can cool it in bowls if you want it to go a bit faster.

 

     

 

 

 

When it is cool enough to handle easily, put everything into the jar and screw on the lid. Let it stand out on a shelf or counter top overnight, then refrigerate it in the morning. The pickles are ready to eat in 24 hours and will keep ten days or two weeks, though I confess I've never made a batch yet that possessed that degree of longevity. Let me be clear: the pickles didn't go bad; I just ate them all up. They improve with every passing day. 

 

 

On occasion I've made a half batch to replenish the jar, adding the new ones to the bottom.  These pickles really do have a way of disappearing. I like that they have plenty of crunch, aren't too sweet, aren't too sour, aren't too hot, but still definitely are not too bland. They make a great mid-afternoon snack, along with a hard-boiled egg. 

 

You won't be struck by lightning, however, if you want to vary your own batch of pickles to taste. What I've hoped to provide for you here is a safe and sensible starting place so you can avert disaster while carrying out your own personal fine-tuning. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I often eat them along with a sandwich, or better yet, alongside a fresh steamed bun 馒头 spread with spicy fermented tofu. I was introduced to this sterling combination several years ago when climbing Mt. Emei 峨眉山 (in Sichuan, south of Chengdu) very early one morning trying to  get to the top by sunrise. I stopped for a break beside the steep trail and two middle-aged ladies sat down beside me. They were friendly and shared their snacks, which were, you guessed it, mantou, lufu, and pickles. Plus a big thermos of green tea. As an impressionable youth, I was hooked for life. Three rounds of rehab have not put a dent in my shameful cravings or my ruinous pickle addiction. 

 

     

 

 

This morning I bought a folded steamed bun with sesame seeds (huajuan 花卷) instead of plain mantou 馒头。Ate the last few remaining pickles from my jar before starting a new batch. These had been marinating about one week and were bursting with flavor. A fine compliment to the spicy fermented tofu (lufu 卤腐) which is one of the odd-ball darlings of Yunnan cuisine. 

 

Life is too short not to eat plenty of pickles; especially home-made Chinese pickles. Give these a try and see what you think!

 

[Alex_Hart]

Looks great, abc! I'll try this when I come back from my summer break.

 

I love Chinese pickles. My girlfriend's hometown is a heaven for preserved foods, whether dried or pickled. The 粥 places have 20+ different kinds of pickles to select from. I never liked eating 粥 (I'm really not a bland food kind of guy) until I tried her hometown's.  I've also made a lot of pickles this year after questioning her auntie: pickled garlic, pickled long beans, pickled mustard greens. Wish I had more room so I could put my pickle crocks outside - they can get a bit stinky inside!

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2 hours ago, Alex_Hart said:

The 粥 places have 20+ different kinds of pickles to select from. 

 

Wow! That's a lot. More than around here. 

 

We have a recent addition to the local wet market: A pickle maker from Sichuan, close to Chongqing. I've bought some of his wares and sampled some others. Incredibly good. Supposedly without unhealthy additives. Very clean flavors. So I only make cucumber pickles at home, and buy the others from him. The long green bean 豆角 pickles are especially good, as are the white radish 白萝卜ones. 

 

     

[Alex_Hart]

Yep - they have everything, and in several styles. You can probably find 4-5 different kinds of pickled radish there (spicy, sweet, super sour, etc).

 

This store looks awesome! I used to buy pickles from a lady in the markets nearby, but I once saw her unpacking them from cardboard boxes. When I asked where she made them, she said she just buys it from a local factory. Was pretty disappointed.

[tomovhell]

Oh I love pickles so this sounds great. I will definitely try this out!

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On 7/2/2018 at 12:00 PM, tomovhell said:

Oh I love pickles so this sounds great. I will definitely try this out!

 

Hope they work out well for you, @tomovhell -- You should be able to find what you need for them in London, at least in Chinatown:

 

White rice vinegar (Not apple cider vinegar.) -- 白醋. The label should have 米 somewhere in the product name. 

Aged vinegar -- 老陈醋 (The best of these come from Shanxi.) 

Old ginger -- 老姜 (This is the kind with the brown skin on the outside.)

Licorice root -- 甘草 (Might be in the TCM section of a Chinese grocery store 超市 or it might be in the tea section, as it is used in beverages.)

Any kind of cucumbers that are firm and fresh. Don't need to be Chinese at all. If they have been coated with wax or preservative oil, scrub that off. Peel them only as a last resort.) 

 

Let us know how it goes! 

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Here's what mine look like this morning, Day 2. (Made them last weekend, today is Tuesday.)

 

     

 

 

[Bibu]

On 7/1/2018 at 1:39 PM, abcdefg said:

hich were, you guessed it, mantou, lufu, and pickles.

 

 

always with pleasant mouthful 唾液 when reading your recipe, just 1 question, is lufu should be 腐乳？ could you help to double check in the market? never heard of 卤腐 in my life time...

 

 

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Thanks, @Bibu -- Lufu 卤腐 is a type of spicy fermented tofu that has its origins in Yunnan, probably in or around Yuxi 玉溪 a little south of Kunming. It is sometimes written as 油卤腐 because the tofu is marinated in spices and oil while it is acquiring its distinctive, strong flavor. Apparently it dates back to the early Qing, maybe even the late Ming. Currently, 石林 has become a lufu production center, east of Kunming.  

 

It has spread now to parts of Sichuan and parts of Guizhou. In stores, it's usually found in brown crockery jars. Here's a picture (from Baidu.)

 

 

I've never tried making it at home, though some of my friends' parents still do. I buy it hand made in the wet market. The seller fishes a few pieces out of a large pan, where it is partly submerged in dark, pungent oil. Here's a photo I took there a couple weeks ago. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The process of making it involves lots of chilies, salt and many other spices. It is usually started during the winter, and takes 4 to 6 months to complete. The end result keeps well, and is usually spread on mantou 馒头 or mixed into rice porridge 粥。I sometimes mix it into bland vegetables, such as long green beans 豆角。

 

It is interesting stuff; not for the meek or the timid. Strong flavors. 

 

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...just 1 question, is lufu should be 腐乳？ could you help to double check in the market? never heard of 卤腐 in my life time...

 

It is very similar to 腐乳, with Yunnan spices. Here's more about it, including how it is made: https://baike.baidu.com/item/油卤腐/3141216?fr=aladdin  

 

I actually just now found another article saying that 卤腐 and 腐乳 are basically two names for the same thing: http://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1604162229707321745&wfr=spider&for=pc 

 

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这石林卤腐是云南这边的一种特产小吃，是用豆腐腌制成的一种特色美味的酱料。而为什么说这卤腐和我们所说的腐乳是一样呢？是因为云南人喜欢称之为卤腐，因为是用豆服卤制而成的，而腐乳是我们习惯的叫法，两者都是酱料，只是叫法不同而已。

 

Thanks for asking! Your question stimulated me to learn more about the subject than I knew before.

[Bibu]

yes, same thing, here is from JD.com:  买2送1云香嫂油腐乳265g云南特产牟定豆腐乳香辣卤腐霉豆腐调味品下饭菜

 

Pickles various from place to place, town to town, I guess it is because the climate, the soil, the water and the local flavor add the bias to the final flavor and quality.

 

I never tired of trying pickle when traveling, you always find difference and exciting flavors, even basically they are from the same material and way fo production.

 

One more thing, the history of 腐乳or卤腐should be every long and origin in yellow river area, because of soil bean is northern and origin in China.a wild guess is at least more than 2000 years.

 

BTW, I have been to Yunnan many times, never know 卤腐. guess I asked 腐乳 and they give 卤腐 to me and never mentioned a word! LOL!

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Here's a snapshot from yesterday at the market when I found all three kinds of cucumbers side by side. The big "English" ones come in medium and large diameter. They are excellent for cooking (and for making pickles.) The small ones on the left, about 10 or 12 cm long, cost a little more than the others. I like to put two or three of these in my pocket as a snack when I'm out in the park. The long ones on the right with the bumpy skin are best for salads such as 拍黄瓜。