酸菜 (Chinese sauerkraut)

(img)

I'm not sure why, but recently I've been craving 酸菜. It is fermented Napa cabbage made in the northern China style. Cook it with green bean thread and pork in soup...yum! Anyway, I'm not much of an expert in different processes of fermenting cabbages to tell the difference between regional styles, but it is definitely not kimchee nor the Singapore or southern Chinese kind. The real stuff is really hard to find in America, so I thought I will try looking for the recipe on the internet to make it myself.

Here's the recipe I'm going to try (roughly translated, with my own notes added below):

1. Prepare a non-metallic container. (The acid released during the fermentation process will affect the metals.)
2. Get rid of the bruised leaves. When putting the Napa cabbages into the container, do your best to place them in such a way as to get rid of all the air bubbles. If you have a hard time putting them in, you may half or quarter them.
3. Add boiling water, add some salt. Place weight on top of the lid to keep cabbages from floating/exposed to air.
4. Place in an area 50-70 degrees Fahrenheit for more than 20 days. Try not to disturb it in the first few days.

Important note! The most important thing in making good 酸菜 is making sure there's no air in the container. The bacteria that ferments the cabbage are anaerobic bacteria. The ones that rots the cabbage are aerobic bacteria. Hence, we add boiling water to kill off bacteria and create an environment that only anaerobes can grow. The acid helps preserve the vegetable.


Here's a site explaining the general concepts of fermenting cabbages.