Shengzhong Pickled Vegetables

Shengzhong Pickled Vegetables

　　Shengzhong pickled vegetables from Nanbu County were an indispensable part of the traditional diet of the people in the Shengzhong Lake Scenic Area in the old days, and they also reflected the frugal lifestyle of the time. “A rice jar, a flour jar—neither compares to a pickle jar.” In the past, every rural household kept one, making pickled vegetables a kind of “half-year food supply” alongside melons and greens. Even though living standards have improved, people still enjoy eating pickled vegetables, especially the elderly—who often lose their appetite if they go without them for a few days. As a result, pickled vegetables are still sold at local markets.

　　Pickled vegetables come in two types: fresh (live) pickled vegetables and dried pickled vegetables. For live pickled vegetables, the ingredients are carefully selected—typically using home-grown greens, radish greens, bitter greens, Chinese cabbage, tender rape sprouts, or fava bean tips—with radish greens being the best choice. After washing, they are boiled until eight or nine-tenths cooked, then scooped into a jar, pressed down tightly, and covered with a layer of old pickled vegetables. The jar is sealed and left until the next day, when the color turns yellow and the vegetables are ready to eat. Over time, the liquid from the pickled vegetables in the jar becomes a thin, slippery brine. Dried pickled vegetables are made by taking fresh pickled vegetables and sun-drying them—commonly using home-grown greens or Chinese cabbage as the base. Before eating, they are soaked in hot water and then cooked. Both dried and fresh pickled vegetables can be prepared in many ways, including pickled vegetable congee, pickled vegetable rice, pickled vegetable noodles, pickled vegetable soup, pickled vegetable sweet potatoes, and pickled vegetable “stirred porridge” (made by stirring cornmeal into a porridge-like consistency and mixing with pickled vegetables).