What’d You Do Last Weekend?
Make your own bitters.
Pickled Chinese Mustard Greens
I was rummaging through some second-hand bookstores this weekend looking for a copy of an out-of-print book when I came across this handy little book called Creative Pickling at Home, by Barbara Ciletti. It's one of those workbook-looking paperbacks that are usually destined for a home at the bargain bookstore. I have one somewhere in my storage locker that was published by Ortho - the pesticide people - and it was a brilliant cookbook for me when I was learning how to cook with more exotic ingredients, like preserved ginger (this was in like 1992, when that was still interesting). The difference in this book is how simple the instructions are, and how interesting some of the recipes are even after 7 years in print.
The recipe that caught my eye immediately was for pickled Chinese mustard greens - because we had a bunch in the fridge that needed to be eaten, and we had been eating stir fry for days and were growing a little tired of it. Pickled Chinese mustard greens would be just the thing I needed to assuage my guilt about not eating those greens.
Pickled Chinese Mustard Greens
1 lb mustard greens, cleaned and dried, chopped
8 scallions, chopped, including white and green parts (we were out of green onions so I substituted some shallot rings. Similar flavor profile.)
1.2 c water chestnuts, sliced (yes, I used canned)
5 tsp pickling salt (I didn't have any - used sea salt instead)
2 T wheat-free tamari
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 qt water
- Toss the greens, scallions, and water chestnuts in a large bowl and set aside.
- Place the salt, tamari, sugar and water in a large pyrex measuring bowl (something to make it easy to pour) and make sure the salt and sugar are dissolved.
- Put the greens mixture into a jar or crock and cover with the brine. Make sure to release all of the air bubbles.
- Put a bowl with water or a glass with water into the mouth of the jar to submerge the greens in the brine, and cover the whole thing with plastic wrap (we put the jar into a larger bowl to prevent spillage).
- Let the container stand at room temperature for 2 - 3 days. When the brining is completed, the greens should be sour, but mildly so. Transfer the greens to airtight jars and refrigerate until ready to use.
