Fermented or pickled mustard greens is a classic Chinese sauerkraut. This pickled mustard greens recipe is a simple and easy way to make delicious homemade suan cai (酸菜).
Love authentic Chinese food? Check out these garlic chives & eggs, beef chow fun and char siu recipes.
What is pickled mustard greens?
Pickled mustard greens are also called suan cai (酸菜) in mandarin. It’s a Chinese sauerkraut. Suan cai (酸菜) literally means sour vegetable. In Cantonese, people often call it syun choi (sour vegetable) or ham choi (salty vegetable).
Gai choi (芥菜) is pickled or fermented for a period of time like other pickled vegetables. It's a salty and sour fermented vegetable.
What is gai choi?
Gai choi or gai cai (芥菜) is a Chinese mustard greens. It is a brassica juncea species of mustard plant.
Homemade suan cai recipe:
This pickled mustard greens recipe is a very simple and easy homemade version that doesn't require drying gai choy under the sun. I really like this recipe because Chinese sauerkraut or suan choi (酸菜) it’s not that sour like a store bought one. But, you can smell the sourness. It’s the taste of my family's authentic homemade Hakka suan cai that I missed so much!
What are the ingredients for Chinese fermented mustard greens?
The ingredients are very simple: kosher salt, gai choi and washed rice water.
Cooking tips for how to make Chinese pickled mustard greens:
- Wash and soak gai choi very well to remove sand and dirt.
- Boil a pot of water, wait until it’s boiling. Then, add washed gai choi and make sure all the leaves are soaked in boiling water. Don’t need to completely cook. Just soak in boiling water for a few seconds. The purpose of this is to kill bacterias and sterile the vegetables because I washed the vegetables and did not put under the sun.
- This method has to use washed rice water.
- The water has to be boiled before. I boiled the water and let it cool down. Then, use it to wash the rice. Try to rub the rice and get the water to look like milky color.
- Rub some salt on every leaf.
- After, put the vegetable into a clean and sterile jar. Add, fill up the washed rice water and make sure the vegetables are covered by the liquid.
- If the vegetable keeps floating up, put a small cup or sauce dish on the vegetable and put down to close the jar.
- Let it ferment for 21 days or 3 weeks and put them in a shade area.
FAQs:
How long can I store suan choi?
After 21 days or 3 weeks, when the suan choi is ready for eating. You can squeeze the excess liquid and put them in a plastic bag and refrigerate for 3-4 days. Or you can cut them up and freeze them for months.
How to make washed rice water?
Just use cold boiled water to wash the rice by rubbing it to make milky colored water. You can use regular white rice like jasmine rice. Or, you can use glutinous rice.
How to clean or sterile the jar?
Normally, I put them in a dishwasher to clean and heat dry it. If you hand wash the jar and air dry it, you can put the glass jar in a microwave for 1 minute. Be careful it’s hot when you touch the jar.
What can I do if the leaves are still floating on top of the washed rice water?
You can put a small cup or a sauce dish to put down the leaves then close the lid.
How to eat pickled mustard greens?
People use suan cai to cook fishes. Some like to use it for stir fry or stir fry with meat. Or, people use it as a side for noodles. Taiwanese beef noodles is one of the famous noodles that always serve with suan cai.
Instructions for how to make Chinese pickle mustard greens:
1. First, put some rice in a bowl and pour some cold boiled water to wash the rice. Try to rub the rice and make milky colored water. Only need the washed rice water later.
2. Wash and soak gai choi very well to remove sand and dirt. Boil a pot of water, wait until it’s boiling. Then, add washed gai choi and make sure all the leaves are soaked in boiling water. Don’t need to completely cook. Just soak in boiling water for a few seconds. The purpose of this is to kill bacterias and sterile the vegetables because I washed the vegetables and did not put under the sun.
3. After that, put the boiled gai choy in a bowl to drain excess water.
4. Next, rub some kosher salt on boiled gai choy. This step is very important to rub salt on every leaf.
5. The following, put the salted gai choi into a glass container. Then, pour washed rice water and fill up. Make sure the liquid covers all the vegetables. If the vegetable keeps floating up, put a small cup or sauce dish on the vegetable and put down to close the jar. Let it ferment for 21 days or 3 weeks. Put them in a shade area.
Enjoy this simple and easy homemade Chinese pickled mustard greens recipe! Also, check out these mapo tofu, gai lan and tomato & egg recipes.
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Pickled Mustard Greens
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds Gai choi (Mustard Greens)
- Some Kosher salt enough to rub on every leaf
- Some Washed rice water to fill up the jar cover the vegetables
Instructions
- First, put some rice in a bowl and pour some cold boiled water to wash the rice. Try to rub the rice and make milky colored water. Only need the washed rice water later.
- Wash and soak gai choi very well to remove sand and dirt. Boil a pot of water, wait until it’s boiling. Then, add washed gai choi and make sure all the leaves are soaked in boiling water. Don’t need to completely cook. Just soak in boiling water for a few seconds. The purpose of this is to kill bacterias and sterile the vegetables because I washed the vegetables and did not put under the sun.
- After that, put the boiled gai choy in a bowl to drain excess water.
- Next, rub some kosher salt on boiled gai choy, remember this step is very important to rub salt on every leaf.
- The following, put the salted gai choi into a glass container. Then, pour washed rice water and fill up. Make sure the liquid covers all the vegetables. If the vegetable keeps floating up, put a small cup or sauce dish on the vegetable and put down to close the jar. Let it ferment for 21 days or 3 weeks. Put them in a shade area.
Video
Notes
Cooking tips for how to make Chinese pickled mustard greens:
- Wash and soak gai choi very well to remove sand and dirt.
- Boil a pot of water, wait until it’s boiling. Then, add washed gai choi and make sure all the leaves are soaked in boiling water. Don’t need to completely cook. Just soak in boiling water for a few seconds. The purpose of this is to kill bacterias and sterile the vegetables because I washed the vegetables and did not put under the sun.
- This method has to use washed rice water.
- The water has to be boiled before. I boiled the water and let it cool down. Then, use it to wash the rice. Try to rub the rice and get the water to look like milky color.
- Rub some salt on every leaf.
- After, put the vegetable into a clean and sterile jar. Add, fill up the washed rice water and make sure the vegetables are covered by the liquid.
- If the vegetable keeps floating up, put a small cup or sauce dish on the vegetable and put down to close the jar.
- Let it ferment for 21 days or 3 weeks and put them in a shade area.