Beijing pickled cucumber

Last updated 2026-11-09 — Select fresh cucumbers with flowers and thorns, wash them, and place them in a vat. Layer the cucumbers with salt, and press a heavy stone on top. Stir the vat once a day for a continuous week, and the cucumbers will be ready to pickle in 1–2 weeks. Take out the pickled cucumbers, soak them in clean water for over 5 hours, changing the water twice during this time. Then remove them, lightly press out the moisture, put them in a cloth bag, and pickle them in yellow bean paste. Stir the mixture once in the morning, at noon, and in the evening every day. In spring and winter, they can be taken out of the vat in 5 days; in summer and autumn, in 3 days. After removing, drain the sauce, then place them in wheat flour paste to continue pickling, stirring once in the morning, at noon, and in the evening daily. They will be ready in 5 days in spring and winter, and 4 days in summer and autumn. Crisp with a hint of sweetness, salty yet flavorful—delicious no matter how many times you eat them.