Eighteen Sons Flavored Pickles

Eighteen Sons Flavored Pickles

　　All Eighteen Sons Flavored Pickles are made in traditional earthenware jars. It’s said that the pickling brine has been around longer than the owner himself. The pickles use high-quality ingredients and are seasoned with a variety of additives (unlike supermarket pickles, which often contain only salt—hardly any different from plain salted vegetables), resulting in a delicious taste.

They can be served as a cold dish or used as an ingredient in other dishes. Pickle lovers must not miss these out!

Pickles, also known as preserved vegetables, are a type of fermented food.

Ingredients: Various seasonal vegetables such as Chinese cabbage, kale, radish, chili pepper, celery, cucumber, green beans, and lettuce—all firm roots, stems, leaves, and fruits can be used to make pickles.

Seasonings: Salt, ginger slices, Sichuan peppercorn, fennel, yellow rice wine, chili peppers

An essential tool for making pickles is the pickle jar. In China, people use a type of jar with a raised mouth and a grooved rim (i.e., a water trough that can hold water). When covered with a lid, it creates a seal that allows the pickles to ferment faster in an oxygen-free environment, producing a large amount of lactic acid. If you don’t have a pickle jar, you can use another container, but it must have a wide opening and a tight seal to prevent air from entering.

How to make pickle brine: Boil clean water, add salt (80 grams of salt per 1 kilogram of water), and stir until the salt is completely dissolved. Then add appropriate seasonings and pour the mixture into the pickle jar (the brine should cover about three-fifths of the jar). Once the brine has completely cooled, add the vegetables.

Seasonings can be adjusted according to personal taste. If you prefer a meaty flavor, add some Sichuan peppercorn, garlic, and ginger; for spiciness, add a bit more chili; if you have a sweet tooth, add some sugar.

Before pickling, remove the old roots and yellow leaves from the vegetables, wash and dry them, then cut them into strips or chunks. Pack the vegetables tightly into the jar, leaving as little empty space as possible, with the liquid level close to the jar’s mouth and the brine covering the vegetables. Pour cool boiled water into the water trough around the jar’s mouth, cover with the lid, and place it in a cool spot. After 7–10 days, the pickles will be ready. If the finished pickles don’t suit your taste when eating, you can adjust them: if they’re not crispy enough, add some alcohol; if too sour, add a bit more salt; if moldy or off-flavored, it’s likely due to excessive heat inside the jar or unclean utensils. In this case, remove the moldy spots, add salt and a small amount of liquor, move the jar to a cool place, and leave the lid open for about 10 minutes each day. The moldy smell will naturally disappear in around 3–5 days. If the pickles become soft, rotten, or smelly, they have gone bad and should not be eaten—the brine is no longer usable either.

When making pickles for the first time, you can add a bit of vinegar or sugar to speed up fermentation, increase lactic acid production, and shorten the pickling time. If using old brine to make pickles, they can be eaten after just 2–3 days. The more often the brine is reused, the more fragrant and delicious the resulting pickles will be. However, each time you make pickles, adjust the amount of salt, Sichuan peppercorn, ginger slices, and liquor based on the quantity of vegetables being pickled.

Always use dedicated chopsticks to take pickles out—never touch them with oily hands or introduce water into the jar. Pickles should not be stored for long periods; they are best consumed fresh. Keep the water trough around the jar’s mouth clean and refill it regularly. If you prefer a spicy flavor, you can take the pickles out, dice them into appropriate sizes, mix with chili oil and MSG, and serve them in a dish—that’s the common “pickles” you’ll often find in Chinese restaurants.