Pickled sour cabbage

Pickled sour cabbage

　　Like the rest of northern Shaanxi, Ganquan County has an age-old tradition of pickling sour cabbage. The story of sour cabbage brings back a tear-jerking memory. In 1970, Chen Shipu, head of the Ganquan County Revolutionary Committee, accompanied the Sacred Land Reporting Delegation to Beijing. After being received by Premier Zhou Enlai in the Great Hall of the People, he asked with concern about the living conditions of the people in Yan’an. The atmosphere suddenly became heavy, and no one knew how to respond. After a long pause, Chen Shipu cautiously answered, “Pardon me for speaking plainly, Premier, but life is quite hard for many people in Yan’an. Back when you and Chairman Mao were here, every household had three jars of grain and one jar of pickles. Now they have three jars of pickles but less than one jar of grain.” Premier Zhou, with tears in his eyes, said, “It’s been 21 years since the founding of the People’s Republic, and we have let down the people of Yan’an. Pickled sour cabbage and millet rice nurtured the people of Yan’an, nurtured the Party Central Committee, and nurtured the Chinese revolution.” In 1973, during his inspection tour of Yan’an, Premier Zhou pointed out, “Change the face of Yan’an in three years, double its output in five.” This story illustrates the special status and significance of sour cabbage.

　　In late autumn and early winter, farmers harvest large quantities of Chinese cabbage. Apart from storing some in cellars, most of it is pickled into sour cabbage for consumption in winter and spring.

　　The method of pickling sour cabbage is very simple. Remove the outer old leaves of the cabbage, wash the whole head, and let it drain for a day. If using cabbages with coarser fibers, briefly blanch them in boiling water and squeeze out the moisture. Typically, the cabbages are washed and drained in the morning and packed into jars in the evening. When packing, layer the cabbage and sprinkle salt between the layers. Once the jar is full, press it down with a stone weight and add a measured amount of brine. Coarse salt is best for seasoning, and the amount depends on individual taste preferences. A lighter salt content yields tangier but crisper cabbage, while a heavier salt content results in saltier and chewier cabbage. The cabbage is usually ready to eat after 20 days of pickling. Women in both urban and rural areas of Ganquan are skilled at making delicious sour cabbage. The finished product is golden, translucent, and brightly colored, with a flavor that is salty yet tangy, and tangy with a fragrant aroma. Nowadays, various seasonings are added during the pickling process. For example, whole Sichuan peppercorns and star anise are wrapped in cheesecloth and placed at the bottom of the jar. Garlic cloves are cleaned but not peeled, ginger slices are peeled whole, and tangerine peels are buried in the pickle along with other seasonings, or sometimes made into a broth, cooled, and then poured in to enhance the flavor. Hence the saying: homemade sour cabbage fills the air with fragrance.