Szechuan Style Cabbage Relish Recipe
1 med. Green cabbage
To make the marinade:
8 cups of Water
2-3 tbsps. Strong spirits (tequila, kaoliang wine or gin)
2-5 slices of Gingerroot
2 tbsps. Szechuan peppercorns
3 tbsps. Salt
1-3 pcs. Small Fresh Chile (optional)
1/2 cup julienned Carrot (optional)
1 cup of julienned Icicle radish (optional)
The dish is very popular in China and there are even special earthenware pickling jars for them. This dish is great served as appetizers or served as a side dish to noodles or boiled pot-stickers.
Szechuan province is located in China’s western part where the red pepper is often used to spice up food.
Traditional spiciness and hotness flavor of relish can vary with regards to individual tastes.
You can use as many or as little of hot peppers & gingerroot as you want. If you like them really very hot, chopping up chiles will make it hotter but if less hotter, then just leave them in whole pieces.
If you don’t add in gingerroot and chiles then the relish will have a good pickle flavor together with natural sweetness of crispy vegetables at the forefront.
Green cabbage & not Chinese cabbage is the main ingredient but you can add in other veggies to make it more colorful.
A batch of this dish will need a couple of days of steeping. Brine must be used again because it will make the relish more flavorful.
To make the relish: Throw away outer cabbage leaves if they are limp. It’s not necessary to separate the leaves individually.
Head of cabbage should be broken in fairly big bite-sized pcs. then pat them down to dry then allow the moisture to evaporate.
For the marinade: Water should be brought to a boil then add in salt and peppercorns.
Peppercorns should be strained when you are transferring liquid to a plastic container with a lid that is air-tight, crock or a ceramic bowl. Allow it to cool in room temp.
After brine cools down, add in cabbage, other veggies and alcohol & weigh them down using a heavy, clean object to make them submerge completely in brine.
Then, tightly cover with some plastic wrap or a lid that is air-tight then place inside refrigerator it for at the least 3 days prior to taking off its cover.
The 1st and 2nd batches might taste a bit salty & might also taste raw but after that the taste will become mellow and then a richly mature character will develop.
The relish can store as long as you want if you keep it cold, clean and airtight.
Make sure to use only dry & clean utensils if you are taking out vegetables. You can take out as many vegetables as you like then add in new veggies before prior batch runs out.
For adding more brine after a few batches then just add in a small amount of alcohol & the salt solution (1/2 tsp. salt boiling in half a cup of water).
You can boil original marinade again but add some more salt & water but the flavor might be lessened.
