酸菜 (Chinese sauerkraut)

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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.

First hotpot party in apt

The unpacking continues. We are one box away from done with the kitchen. Luis bought his desk and relinquished control of the dining room table. Closet is still undone. Everything is coming along.

Went to the dog park in the morning and found the weather to be quite warm. I decided that it was warm enough to make bread. The whole process did not take long at all, and in almost no time at all, we had delicious warm bread with thin crispy crust.

G then treated us to hotpot for dinner and it was soooo filling that all I want to do is close my eyes and sleep...

...until I was mesmerized by this from BakingMum. Everything looked incredibly delicious. It also comes with recipes for the more Chinese foods. Will have to make a list of things to try later. Sometime in the near future: SPONGE CAKE!

Green onion pancake, grilled king mackerel, and cole slaw

I've been craving green onion pancakes for awhile now. I miss the delicious aroma of fried green onions when they are hot. Today I decided to make some. So I googled and found this recipe from Nook & Pantry and prepared it with some minor adjustments.

Green Onion Pancake (葱油饼)
8 4-in servings

2 1/2 cup AP flour
3/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 tsp salt +more for mixing with green onions later
~4 green onions
oil for frying and mixing with green onions

1. Combine flour and salt, add hot water, stir to combine. (The mixture will be crumbly.)
2. Let the dough cool a bit then +cold water. Knead till smooth, ~3-4 min. (The dough is pretty wet.)
3. Let the dough rest for ~1 hr in an oiled bowl, covered. (This allows the flour to really soak in the water. Did not see any significant rising.)
4. Green onion mixture: thinly cut the green onions. Add a little salt ~1/4 tsp and mix in with hand. Crush the green onion a bit while mixing. Add enough oil to coat the green onions and mix again.
5. Roll the dough into a log and divide into 8 pieces. Take one and leave the rest covered.
6. Roll the piece out to desired thickness. (The thinner it is, the more layers the final pancake will have.) Spread 1 tsp of green onion mixture on top.
7. Roll up the dough tightly and coil it. Seal the end by tucking it underneath the coil.
8. Hand press the coil to flatten it and use a rolling pin to finish rolling it to desired thickness. (The dough will stretch and break. It's ok.)
9. Repeat with the rest of the pieces.
*At this point, you can freeze the pancakes by putting them in between layers of plastic.
10. Heat the pan to medium to medium hot. Add a bit of oil in the pan and fry the dough till golden brown on both sides.

Notes: Next time I think I will probably triple or quadruple the recipe. 1 of this is enough for 2 people. However, it'll be nice to have some frozen for use during the rest of the week or have something bigger than coaster sized pancakes.

For dinner: King mackerel and cole slaw
Sprite made cole slaw last night with the goal of replicating the delicious KFC cole slaw. The vegetables soaked overnight to absorb the flavors. Turned out pretty damn close.

As for the mackerel, I was shopping at 99 Ranch when I decided why not try some fish? I'm usually not a fish person, but grilling can't be too bad. Plus, a fillet of it was only $2.50 or so. Lets try it.

I found a recipe on google. Super easy and really delicious.
Clean and season fish with salt, black pepper and garlic. While grilling, place lemon slices on top. When serving, garnish with lemon slices as well. It's good.

A note on cooking mackerel in my cast iron pan: Cook on medium. Place skin side down to cook till opaque ~60-75% through on the thickest part. Flip and cook for 2/3 the amount of time used to cook the first side. Fish, unlike terrestral meat, is ready when there's a little bounce in the flesh when pressed. This worked out well for now. Will do more fiddling with cooking time.

(I really need to take some pictures of these food.)