In a Pickle

"Giam Chye" fermenting in a jar

During a recent visit to Calgary, we were thrilled to visit the T&T supermarket there and stock up on a whole bunch of longed for Asian groceries and condiments.
Amongst them was "kiam chye" (hokkien, trans. "salty vegetable) which is in essence mustard greens fermented in a salty brine. That prized purchase was quickly cooked up into "kiam chey ark thng" (salty veg duck soup) using the carcass left over from our Christmas Roast Duck.
Thinking of that yummy warming soup made us hanker for more, but with no Asian supermart within 2h drive, we had to resort to making our own.
Scouring the internet, we found to recipes, one from a Singaporean Uncle and the other attributed to "Sonia, nasi lemak lover". Since we were not able to buy mustard greens, we resorted to "pak choy" which we felt was the next closest. (we pondered over Napa cabbage, regular cabbage, even curly kale). In the end, our recipe took pointers from both posts.

Veggies layered with salt, drying on a tray

Ingredients:

• 1 kg pak choy (use mustard greens if you can find them)
• 75g coarse salt (without preservatives, additives or anti-caking agents)
• 3 Tbsp coarse salt
• 1/2 Tsp rice flour
• 1 slice ginger (about 3mm thick)
• 3 L warm water
• Preserving jar

Method:

1. wash the vegetables thoroughly and shake off excess water
2. lay the vegetables on a large tray and sprinkle the 75g salt all over, making sure all surfaces are covered
3. set aside for 6-8h to draw out excess moisture from the vegetable
4. In the preserving jar add the remaining ingredients
5. After 6-8h, squeeze whatever moisture has come out of the vegetables
6. Place veg in preserving jar, making sure every bit is submerged, close lid tightly (the fermentation process is anaeobic)
7. Check every other day - Remove any whitish scum (if any- that forms. It should start having a clean sour smell from lacto-fermentation. Be careful when opening the lid; fermentation produces gas! If it smells putrid, then the concentration of salt is wrong - too much salt and the lactobacillus gets killed, too little and the veggies rot - see this reference.
8. After 5-7 days, the kiam chye is ready to be eaten. Remove from preserving jar, rinse and use or freeze till needed.