Preserved vegetables of Mianyang

Preserved vegetables of Mianyang

　　When away from home, homesickness sets in, and thoughts turn to the preserved vegetables of my hometown.

　　 The preserved vegetables of my hometown are mostly made and eaten by local villagers. The mere smell of them makes one’s mouth water, and they are refreshingly appetizing. Throughout the year, these pickled and fermented vegetables include: in spring, there are pickled wild greens, homemade pickled mustard greens, pickled shallots, pickled garlic, and pickled leeks; in summer, there are pickled cucumbers in soy sauce, pickled melon in soy sauce, and pickled green beans; in autumn, there are sun-dried chili paste, sweet paste, pea paste, pickled fermented black beans, and pickled winter melon; in winter, there are pickled radishes and pickled Jerusalem artichokes... To be honest, these pickled vegetables can be bought almost anywhere outside, but for the preserved vegetables of my hometown, it’s more about the longing for the taste of home.

　　 The most common preserved vegetables back home are salted vegetables (yan cai), fermented black beans, and zha lazi (spicy pickled peppers).

　　 Making salted vegetables is very simple. Select fresh, high-quality leafy greens that are in season, such as spicy wild greens, mustard greens, or radish greens. Sun-dry them for two or three days, then wash and finely chop them. Sprinkle with salt, knead by hand to squeeze out the moisture, then pack them into a jar. Press them down tightly with a rolling pin, seal the jar, keep it in a cool, ventilated place, and after ten or so days, they’re ready to eat. When you want to eat them, just take some out to stir-fry — no need to wait for farming seasons, very convenient. Stir-fried salted vegetables with meat or salted vegetable omelet pancakes are both delicious dishes.

　　 The main ingredient for fermented black beans is usually locally grown soybeans. First, the soybeans are boiled, then sun-dried and spread out on a winnowing basket, covered with pumpkin leaves, and pressed down with wild mugwort to encourage fermentation. Once mold appears, they are sun-dried again, washed, and then ready for fermentation. During fermentation, ginger powder, red chili peppers, garlic, five-spice powder, and salt are added, stirred evenly in a basin, and then placed in a jar (commonly called a “vat”). A bit of sesame oil is drizzled on top, the jar is sealed tightly, and then stored in a cool place. After a month or so, the fermented black beans turn a brownish-yellow color, rich in aroma, and stimulate the appetite. They can also be used as seasoning for other dishes.

　　 Zha lazi (spicy pickled vegetables) uses a wide range of ingredients, including pickled lotus root, pickled radish, pickled winter melon, pickled sweet potato... Of course, the most delicious is pickled meat. But no matter what you pickle, rice flour is essential. After chopping the ingredients, mix them with salt, chili peppers, and seasonings, knead everything together, pack into a jar, seal, and let it ferment for ten days to half a month. Then it can be pan-fried and served as a side dish. Back home, pickled spicy vegetables pan-fried with braised intestines are simply exquisite.

　　 In addition to these wet-preserved vegetables, my hometown also has dry-preserved vegetables. Villagers would pull radishes from the garden, dig out sweet potatoes, wash them, and slice, dice, or shred them, then sun-dry them for two or three days before storing them.

　　 “Radish peel” is made by steaming dried raw radish peels in a wooden steamer, then sun-drying them again. Mixed with pea flour to make soup, it’s cooling, refreshing, good for the stomach, and aids digestion. “Sweet potato slices” can be stir-fried in a spicy wok or deep-fried — crispy and tasty, with a sweet edge amid the savory crunch. Daylily buds, dried green beans, dried enzyme residue, dried eggplant... Just soak them in water before cooking.

　　 Xiantao steamed dishes are quite distinctive. Whether meat or vegetarian, they are often mixed with rice flour and steamed. Steamed fish, steamed meat, steamed chicken, steamed lotus root, steamed radish, steamed chrysanthemum greens, and more. People always associate eating steamed dishes with fond memories of home. Dried fish and cured meats are indispensable delicacies at Spring Festival family banquets. Xiantao banquet dishes also have their own characteristics, with the “Ten Big Reed Bowls” (dishes served in large reed-patterned bowls) being the most lavish, among which Mianyang Three Steamed Dishes are the highlight.

　　 Ah！The taste of my hometown’s preserved vegetables is the most delicious, always unforgettable in my memory！

　　 August 2012, Zhang Caifu, Beijing