Anshun Baihuachuan Pickled Vegetables

Anshun Baihuachuan Pickled Vegetables

　　　　Anshun Baihuachuan Pickled Vegetables have a long production history. It is said that the recipe was originally brought to Anshun by an elderly monk from Mount Emei in Sichuan who, before passing away, passed down the technique of making these pickled vegetables to his disciple Xia Shaorong. The pickled vegetables made by Xia were fresh, flavorful, and of exceptional quality, earning praise from both domestic and international food enthusiasts. Baihuachuan Pickled Vegetables are made primarily from seasonal fresh vegetables such as red radish, white radish, carrot, cucumber, horned melon, zucchini, shepherd’s purse, Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi, arrowhead, Jerusalem artichoke, garlic sprouts, garlic bulbs, potatoes, tender ginger, and cowpeas. These are combined with spices and traditional Chinese medicinal herbs including Sichuan peppercorn, black pepper, star anise, clove, fennel, sandalwood, cardamom, cinnamon bark, cinnamon kernel, patchouli, grassleaf sweetflag, costus root, hemp seed, tung flower, melon seed kernel, codonopsis, angelica, ligusticum, almond kernel, cardamom core, fragrant pine, lifesaver herb, licorice, pine core, olive fruit, spikenard, red peony, white peony, loopgrass, death orchid, silver orchid, white orchid, fragrant flower, peony leaf, golden melon, melon slice, banana slice, and orange peel. Hence the name “Baihuachuan,” meaning “a hundred-flower string.” The making of Anshun Baihuachuan Pickled Vegetables involves strict ingredient selection and meticulous processing. Fresh vegetables are harvested, washed, and any diseased or insect-damaged parts are removed. Fibrous or tough portions are trimmed, then the vegetables are cut into slices or shreds as appropriate. They are then soaked in a 5% salt solution for five days. The salted vegetable pieces are next soaked in soy sauce at a one-to-one weight ratio for another five days. The process continues with three rounds of fermentation in sauce vats—each round lasting five days, with the final soak in the vat lasting seven days to produce the finished product. The spices and medicinal herbs are processed by grinding them into powder, packing them into gauze bags, and then soaking them together with the vegetables in the vats during fermentation.