This kimchi variety is prepared with mustard leaves (gat) that are coated in a spicy mixture of chili flakes, ginger, garlic, finely sliced scallions, and (optionally) fermented anchovy paste. The greens are roughly chopped before they are coated in the paste and left to ferment.
Gat kimchi is appreciated for the pungent flavor of the leaves that perfectly complement the spicy chili paste. Mustard leaf kimchi is usually served as banchan - a traditional Korean side dish.
Yacai is a traditional ingredient originating from Yibin in Sichuan. This pickled vegetable is made from the upper stems of mustard plant. The mustard greens are harvested in the 9th lunar month. The leaves are discarded, the stems are sliced into strips, and the strips are dried, then mixed with salt and fermented from 3 to 6 months in sealed containers.
They are then boiled with brown sugar and hung to dry again. Sichuan pepper, star anise, and other spices are added, and the mustard greens are fermented for another 3 to 6 months befor consumption. Yibin yacai is often used in stir-fries with vegetables and meat, and it's a crucial ingredient in dishes such as ganban sijidou (dry-fried green beans) and dan dan noodles.
This kimchi variety is made with chonggakmu—small-sized, firm, and crispy ponytail radishes with tender green stems. The radishes, together with the stems, are brined or salted and are then generously coated in a kimchi paste before they are left to ferment.
The spicy kimchi mixture is usually made with a thick rice flour paste that is combined with chili flakes, minced garlic and ginger, and additions such as anchovy paste or fish sauce. Chonggak kimchi is usually served as a side (banchan) with a variety of Korean dishes.
As the name suggests, this kimchi variety is prepared with yeolmu—young radish greens that have a long green stem and a small, white root. The radishes are cut into smaller chunks before they are salted and combined with a kimchi paste that usually consists of a rice flour base that is mixed with chili flakes, grated garlic and ginger, fish sauce, sliced fresh chilis, and fermented shrimp paste.
Yeolmu kimchi is a summer favorite, and it is often served as a cold side dish (banchan), but it is also commonly added to noodle dishes or bibimbap—a variety of Korean mixed rice.
Served as an appetizer, palate freshener, or a side dish, pào cài is a Sichuan-style pickle made with various vegetables, mostly Chinese cabbage, carrots, mustard stems, long beans, daikon radish, turnips, cucumbers, ginger, and hot peppers.
In Sichuanese cuisine, these crunchy, tangy pickles are always on hand, and almost every family keeps a large clay pot in their kitchen, filled with a variety of seasonal vegetables in a simple water and vinegar brine seasoned with salt, sugar, and Sichuan peppercorns.
Menma is a Japanese condiment that is commonly used as a ramen topping. It consists of lactate-fermented bamboo shoots which have, in most cases, previously been dried in the sun and seasoned with sesame oil, sugar, salt, and soy sauce. These bamboo shoots are typically produced in Taiwan and China, so menma is also known as shinachiku, meaning Chinese bamboo.
It can be bought in jars or big vacuum packs in Japanese grocery stores. Apart from being used as a ramen topping, menma can also be consumed as a tasty side dish when served with rice.
Usually served as a side dish, fukujinzuke is the name of the Japanese-style pickled vegetables. The unique characteristic of the dish is the pickling procedure in which the vegetables are not traditionally pickled, but shortly brined and marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sake, and sugar.
Since the name of the dish derives from the term used to refer to the Seven Gods of Good Fortune - a group of deities native to China, India, and Japan - the pickle should traditionally include seven different ingredients. This tradition has been partially neglected, and nowadays it is not uncommon to use a variable number of components, which may include eggplants, shiitake mushrooms, daikon, radish, cucumber, carrots, and many other combinations.
Takuan is pickled Japanese daikon radish, and as such, it belongs to the group of tsukemono pickles. The Japanese daikon is very crunchy and has sweet and mild flavors. It's typically sun-dried, seasoned with salt and various spices, then left in the pickling solution of turmeric, rice wine vinegar, sugar, salt, and water for a few months.
Once finished, the daikon is yellow in color and slightly pungent. In Akita Prefecture, takuan is smoked, and it's then known as iburigakko. In South Korea, takuan is called danmuji. It's usually served with other tsukemono pickles or used in salads, stir-fries, and as an ingredient in sushi.
Gari is the Japanese term for pickled ginger, the crucial element of every sushi meal. Because of its tender texture, translucent skin, and mild flavor, top-quality gari is usually prepared with early-harvested young ginger. If the ginger is fresh and young, it should have pink-colored tips which give the dish a discerning pale pink color.
The pickling procedure starts with thin slices of ginger which are shortly boiled in water, drained, then dried. The slices are later stored in jars or containers and doused in a boiled pickling mixture made with rice vinegar, salt, and sugar. Gari can be consumed after a couple of days, and if properly stored, it has a relatively long shelf life.
Even though sauerkraut is a German word meaning sour cabbage, Chinese sauerkraut or suan cai, sometimes also called xiān cài, is probably the very first version of sauerkraut, as it is known that the laborers who built the Great Wall of China ate it as standard fare over 2000 years ago.
In fact, sauerkraut is thought to have originated in the north of China among the Mongols, and was most likely brought to Europe in the 13th century with the Mongol invasion and the migration of nomadic tribes. Traditionally, suan cai from Northern China uses shredded napa cabbage, which is shortly blanched, salted, and then fermented in its own juice with the addition of rice wine, while in the southern parts of the country Chinese mustard greens are used instead.
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