Huai'an Traditional Braised Turnip

Huai'an Traditional Braised Turnip

　　Also known as nodular turnip or mustard root tuber. Produced in Huai'an, Jiangsu. First, select turnips weighing over half a pound with neat and attractive shapes as raw materials, then peel off their outer skin. Stack the peeled turnips neatly and cover them with mats. After five to seven days, place them in a vat to “freshen” (soak). During the soaking period, pound them once daily with a wooden mallet. After three to four days, wash them clean in the brine, remove them, and transfer them to another vat to “freshen” for another three to four days, turning them into semi-finished products. The semi-finished turnips are then washed clean in the brine, placed into vats, jars, or cement pools, spread out evenly, compacted, pressed down firmly, covered with mats, and weighed down with bluestone slabs. Then clarified old brine is poured in—a process called "sealing the vat." During this period, salt and brine are added as needed. The so-called old brine refers to the pickling liquid that has been used for over three years to pickle turnips. Around the Dragon Boat Festival, the traditional braised turnips are fully cured. Through this process, they will not turn sour or rot during the summer, and the longer they are stored, the more their umami flavor increases.