Laoyuan Pickled Vegetables

Laoyuan Pickled Vegetables

　　Winters in the north are long. In Laoyuan, winter begins in mid-November of the previous year and doesn’t end until late April of the following year when the trees start to sprout new buds. The cold season lasts for over five months. In the past, without greenhouses, it was impossible to have fresh vegetables in winter. How to get through these long, harsh months became a serious challenge for the not-so-well-off mountain communities. Forced by the environment, the local people of Laoyuan came up with the practice of preserving vegetables through pickling. Laoyuan’s pickled vegetables are neither like Sichuan pickles nor Korean kimchi—they have their own unique flavor. There is a wide variety, and the textures differ greatly. A rough count reveals more than ten types, including pickled Huihui Bai cabbage, various types of sauerkraut, mashed pickles, seasoned pickles, spicy pickles, sieve pickles, pickled cucumbers, pickled chili peppers, pickled green beans, and stinky Qiu Qiu vegetables (also called pressed vegetables), among others. Among these, pickled Huihui Bai, seasoned pickles, and spicy pickles are the most distinctive. Everything has its material foundation, and pickled vegetables are no exception. The Laoyuan region produces a type of large, round-headed Chinese cabbage that grows well even in dry fields. Locals commonly call it Huihui Bai, with smaller ones weighing at least seven or eight pounds and larger ones reaching twenty to thirty pounds. Using this kind of Chinese cabbage as the main ingredient, along with ginger yam (also known as Jerusalem artichoke), dewdrops, manna, celery, green chili peppers, and green tomatoes—chopped and pickled together with seasonings such as ginger and Sichuan peppercorns—the result is a tangy and crispy delicacy. The eastern part of Laoyuan is especially known for making the most flavorful pickled cabbage. Seasoned pickles are made by blanching whole heads of Chinese cabbage, mustard greens, and wild-stemmed vegetables, then pickling them with seasonings like Sichuan peppercorns and salt. This type of pickle has a very unique taste and is particularly famous in areas like Zoumayi and Nanmazhuang. The ingredients for spicy pickles are quite ordinary—not much more than white radishes, carrots, and Chinese cabbage—but what makes them special is the use of spicy mustard (similar to prepared mustard paste) as a seasoning. It's so pungent that it can make your nose sting, which is why a popular folk rhyme vividly describes it: “Onions sting the eyes, garlic stings the heart, but mustard stings both nostrils.” As for stinky Qiu Qiu vegetables, they’re also worth mentioning. These are made by fermenting bitter greens and emit a rather peculiar stench. But even so, some people actually love eating them, just like stinky tofu. Various types of sauerkraut can be eaten cold, or cooked and stewed with other dishes. Visiting Laoyuan in winter to sample these diverse pickled vegetables and change up your palate is definitely a worthwhile experience.