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Preserved and pickled food holds a special and essential part in the Asian diet and cuisine.
In the days before before refrigeration and rapid transport services, fresh had to be
preserved for the lean months so that it could be conveyed to interior regions that were
often a long way from the source of supply.
 Preserved and pickled vegetables and, to a lesser extent, fruits, are used all over Asia.
Some of the more well known examples include chow chow, the Chinese sweet mixed
pickles that are now a favorite in the West, and kim chee, the tart, garlicky pickle
that is served at almost every Korean meal. In Japan, pickled vegetables are very popular as
are pickled plums, while Indonesian cooks relish atjar kuning, a yellow mixed pickle
which is mildly hot.
There
are several ways of preserving and pickling food. The most common way is to use salt as a
preservative, then dry the food in the sun or by another source of heat. Another age-old
method is to partially dry the food, then pickle it in brine or a soy-based solution.
SICHUAN PRESERVED VEGETABLE
| Mandarin: ZHACAI |
Cantonese: JA CHOI |
This
pickle, originating in Sichuan province, is made from the stems of mustard cabbage. It is
now made in other parts of China. The stems are dried in the sun, then pickled in brine.
After being trimmed and cleaned, they are pressed to extract excess liquid (the Mandarin
name zhacai means "pressed vegetable"), before being blended with chilies and spices,
and stored in sealed urns to mature.
aroma
& flavor..
Sichuan preserved vegetable has a pungent aroma that may not appeal to the uninitiated. It
has smooth and crunchy texture and taste quite salty and peppery.
culinary uses..
Unlike most other types of preserved and pickled vegetables, Sichuan preserved vegetable is
a very versatile ingredient. It is not merely served raw as a relish, but is also cooked
with other foods in stir-fries, soups and steamed dishes.
preparation & cooking techniques ..
Sichuan preserved vegetable should be rinsed in water to remove some of the excess
salt and chilies. This is because it has a strong hot and salty flavor. It is usually finely
sliced or shredded for use.
storage..
Sichuan preserved vegetables are normally sold in cans, although you may be able to buy the
pickles loose in some Asian stores. Any unused pickles should be transferred to an airtight
container and stored in the refrigerator, where it can keep almost indefinitely.
CHINESE PICKLES
The
is a wide range of Chinese pickles available in the West. Some appear in packets, some in
jars, and some in cans. A pickle may consist of a single ingredient such as ginger, garlic,
spring onion bulbs, chilies, cabbage, cucumber, gourd, runner beans, bamboo shoots, carrots
or daikon (Chinese radish or mooli) or a mixture. Individual items are generally pickled in
a dark soy solution, while mixed vegetables tend to be pickled in clear brine to which
sugar, Sichuan peppercorns, distilled spirit and fresh ginger have been added, with chilies
and vinegar as optional ingredients. The cleaned vegetables are pickled in the solution in a
sealed earthenware urn. This is left in a cool , dark place for at least a week in summer,
or up to a month in winter. The longer the pickling process, the better the taste.
JAPANESE PICKLES
| Japanese: TSUKEMONO |
There
are many varieties of the Japanese pickles known as tsukemono. The vegetables that
are used are more or less the same as those used in Chine, but the method of pickling is
somewhat different. To start with, instead of earthenware urns, only wooden barrels are used
in Japan and, instead of being pickled in a brine solution, the vegetables are layered with
salt. When the barrel is full, a lid is put on top, and this is weighted down with large
stone or similar weight. The combine effect of the salt and the compression forces the
liquid out of the vegetables and they are pickled in their own juices.
Other
method include pickling in sake, miso or rice bran, and the most popular types of vegetable
used are daikon (mooli), bok choy, cucumber, aubergine (egg plant), horseradish and the
bulbs of spring onions. Thinly sliced pink pickled ginger (gari) is tradionally served with
sushi and sashimi.
Japanese pickles form an essential part of a meal. They are served as a relish to accompany
the cooked food, as well as a dessert of a means of cleansing the palate at the end. They
are either served singly or in groups of two or three, always beautifully arranged in small
individual dishes.
types
of Asian pickles..
Umeboshi - these are small pickled plums and are a particular
Japanese delicacy.
The plums picked before they are ripe and are pickled in salt, with red shiso leaves to give
them their distinctive color. They have a sharp and salty taste and are often chopped and
used as a filling for rice balls.
Pickled bamboo shoots - a delicacy in
Vietnam, this consist of sliced bamboo
shoots in spiced vinegar. The shoots are quite sour and should be soaked in water to remove
some of the bitterness. They are mainly used in soups and stocks, and are often served with
duck.
Pickled
garlic - this is a favorite in
Thailand. The small bulbs are pickled whole in a
sweet and sour brine.
Pickled
limes - whole limes preserved in brine or a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, salt and
vinegar are another Thai specialty.
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