Pickled Napa Cabbage Recipes

JAPANESE-STYLE PICKLED NAPPA CABBAGE

Steps:

• Halve the Chinese cabbage vertically (note 6) to have two quarters of cabbage wedges.
• Place the cabbage wedges on paper (baking paper, newspaper, etc) and dry them in the sun for ½ day (note 7).
• Weigh the cabbage and calculate the quantity of salt required (note 2).
• Lightly rinse the Chinese cabbage and pat dry outside.
• Sprinkle some salt on the bottom of the container. Sprinkle 1/3 of the konbu, chilli and lemon rind.
• Take a wedge of the Chinese cabbage and sprinkle some salt between the stalks, particularly the bottom part where the white stalks are thick. I do this in the container.
• Sprinkle the salt around the cabbage and rub, then place the cabbage in the container/pot, cut side down.
• Repeat for the other cabbage wedge and place next to the first wedge in the opposite direction so that the tip of the cabbage wedge meets the stem-end of the first cabbage (note 8).
• Scatter the remaining ingredients, including salt over the cabbage.
• Place the plate over the cabbage and press down.
• Place Weight 1 on the plate and place the lid on or cover with cling wrap. Leave it in the dark cool/cold place for 3 days.
• You should see water has risen in the container (note 9). Replace the weight with Weight 2, place the lid on or cover with cling wrap and leave for further 3 days.
• Transfer the pickled cabbage with the liquid to a smaller container or a zip lock bag and keep in the fridge until required.
• Lightly rinse the cabbage (note 10) and squeeze the water out.
• Place the cabbage on the cutting board, trim the end of the stem off and cut it into 4cm wide pieces.
• Squeeze residual water out of each bunch of cabbage pieces and transfer to the serving plate/bowl. Scatter with the julienned lemon rind if you want.

PICKLED NAPA CABBAGE

Steps:

• Place cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle on the garlic. Prepare pickling liquid by dissolving sugar and salt in the water and vinegar. (Warming it in the microwave helps.) Pour liquid over cabbage. Place a plate over the cabbage with a jar of water on it as a weight to keep cabbage below liquid as it foams from the cabbage. Cover lightly and store at room temperature for 24 hours. Mix lightly with hands once or twice in that 24-hour period. Place in half gallon or large-mouth quart jars, distributing the pepper seeds evenly in several portions throughout the cabbage. Store at room temperature for another 24 hours and then refrigerate. cook's notes Add more garlic, if desired and leave some whole, they are delicious. Can add other vegetables for color or flavor such as an onion, quartered and layers separated. Can use more or less pepper flakes, according to your taste. Use this pickling liquid for other vegetables, such as other cabbage-like vegetables, bok choy, onions, scallions, leeks, etc.

PICKLED NAPA CABBAGE

Steps:

• In a large heatproof bowl, combine cabbage, cucumber, and onion.
• In a medium saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups water, vinegar, sugar, and salt; bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar. Immediately pour over vegetables; using a dinner plate, press down on vegetables until they are submerged.
• Let cool to room temperature; transfer vegetables and liquid to an airtight container, and refrigerate up to 2 weeks. Use as you would sauerkraut or pickles, such as in Open-Face Ham Reuben Sandwiches.

JAPANESE PICKLED NAPA CABBAGE (HAKUSAI TSUKEMONO)

Steps:

• Cut napa cabbage: Cut it into small pieces.
• Put in a bag: Put napa cabbage, shio koji, and shio kombu in a plastic bag.
• Massage: Massage them until napa cabbage gets a little softer.
• Pickle: Close the bag, put it in a container, and let it sit in the fridge for 2 hours.

PICKLED NAPA CABBAGE

Steps:

• Toss together cabbage, carrot, and salt in a bowl. Put kombu in a narrow straight-sided container (5 to 6 inches in diameter) and top with cabbage mixture. Cut a piece of cardboard to fit just inside container and enclose it in a sealable plastic bag. Top cabbage with plastic-covered round and stack 4 to 6 pounds of canned goods on top to weight it. Chill weighted cabbage at least 3 hours.
• Discard kombu. Squeeze excess liquid from cabbage and toss with shiso.

PICKLED NAPA CABBAGE WITH UMEBOSHI PLUMS

Steps:

• Transfer cabbage to a large bowl and separate leaves, then toss with kosher salt. Let stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, 1 hour.
• Stir together umeboshi plums, mirin, and rice vinegar in a small bowl.
• Rinse cabbage with cold water in a colander and drain.
• Firmly squeeze 1 handful cabbage several times to remove excess water and transfer to cleaned bowl. Repeat with remaining cabbage. Stir in umeboshi mixture, then chill, covered, stirring once or twice, at least 1 hour.

PICKLED CABBAGE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

PICKLED CABBAGE

Steps:

• Place cabbage into a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and mix to distribute. Let stand for 20 minutes, mixing with your hands every few minutes.
• Pour out excess salt water from the cabbage. Add vinegar and sugar; mix well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 24 hours.

JAPANESE-STYLE QUICK-PICKLED CABBAGE SLAW

Steps:

• Whisk first 6 ingredients in a medium saucepan.
• Bring to boil; pour into a large bowl.
• Add cucumber, carrot and red bell pepper.
• Add cabbage to vegetable mixture.
• It can be made up to 4 hours ahead.