Crispy, delicious, and attractive pickled cabbage, which goes well with any dish. Have you tried it yet? Let’s prepare the necessary ingredients with TasteVN and get cooking to make this mixed salad right away!
1. Pickled Cabbage
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Preparation
1 hour
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Cooking
10 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Pickled Cabbage For 2 people
Cabbage 900 gr White radish 1 piece Carrot 1 piece Green onion 100 gr Ginger 1 piece (medium-sized) Garlic 6 cloves Chili 4 pieces Fish sauce 300 ml Lemon juice 200 ml Sugar 200 gr Salt 2 tablespoons
How to choose fresh and delicious white radish
- Choose white radishes of moderate size, not too big or too small, straight and tapered at the tail.
- Select white radishes with intact stems; the fresher the stem, the tastier the radish.
- Fresh and delicious white radishes will have a creamy white outer skin, bright green leaf stems, and feel heavy when picked up.
- Avoid buying radishes with pure white outer skin as they may have been soaked in bleaching agents or chemicals.
- Avoid buying radishes that are wilted, soft, or have rotten stems, as these are radishes that have been stored for too long.
How to prepare pickled napa cabbage
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Soak the napa cabbage
After purchasing, separate the napa cabbage leaves and rinse briefly with water.
Add 1 liter of water and 3 tablespoons of salt to a bowl, stir until the salt is fully dissolved, then add the napa cabbage, pressing it down to ensure the saltwater fully saturates the cabbage. Soak for 1 hour.
After that, remove the cabbage, rinse thoroughly with water, and let it drain.
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Prepare other ingredients
Peel and slice the ginger. Peel the garlic, remove the stems from the chili peppers, and rinse the garlic and chili peppers. Then, pound the ginger, garlic, and chili together until well mixed.
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Make the soaking liquid
Prepare 1.2 liters of warm water, add 300ml of fish sauce, 200ml of lemon juice, 200gr of sugar, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Then add all the mashed ginger, garlic, and chili mixture.
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Cut and mix vegetables
Peel the carrot and white radish, wash them thoroughly, and shred them. Clean the shallots by removing any damaged leaves, discarding the roots, washing them, and cutting them into pieces about the length of a finger.
Mix the Napa cabbage, carrot, white radish, and green onions together, then place them into a jar with a lid or a food storage container.
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Soak napa cabbage in the prepared sauce
Pour the soaking liquid into the jar with napa cabbage, seal it tightly and keep it at room temperature for 1 – 2 days.
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Final product
Now you have the pickled napa cabbage with bright colors from the napa cabbage, red from the carrots, and green from the green onions and white radishes.
The cabbage has a moderate sweet and sour taste, fragrant with ginger, garlic, and a bit of spiciness from the chili. This dish can be served with grilled meat, braised meat, or other savory dishes, and it pairs very well.
2. Spicy crispy pickled napa cabbage
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Preparation
2 hours 30 minutes
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Cooking
10 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for spicy crispy pickled napa cabbage Serves 4
Napa cabbage 500 gr Chives 1 stalk Red onion 1/2 bulb (large bulb like onion) Carrot 1 piece Ginger 1 piece (small piece) Garlic 1 bulb Yellow pickled cabbage 1 bulb (about 100 – 200gr) Dried chili 1.5 teaspoons Fish sauce 3 tablespoons Vinegar 2 tablespoons Salt 1.5 tablespoons Sugar 4 tablespoons
How to choose fresh and delicious red onions
- Choose round, short red onions as they will be tastier than long, thin ones.
- Fresh and delicious red onions will have more roots, with dry, firm skin tightly hugging the inner bulb that is deep purple.
- Avoid choosing onions with dark spots on the skin, very few or no roots as they are old onions.
- Avoid selecting onions with rough outer skin that do not hug the inner bulb tightly and may easily peel off.
Completion
Put the pickled napa cabbage into a glass jar with a lid and let it pickle for 1 day before enjoying.
Final Product
Now you have a delicious dish of spicy crispy pickled napa cabbage ready to enjoy. The pickled napa cabbage has an eye-catching color from ingredients like carrots, red onions, chives, and yellow pickled radish.
The flavor of the napa cabbage is not too sour, but just right, crispy, spicy, tangy, and slightly sweet. This dish can be enjoyed with grilled meat, boiled meat, or other dishes, all of which pair very well.
How to choose fresh and delicious cabbage
- Choose cabbage heads that are light green at the top and gradually turn bright white from the body to the base.
- Avoid cabbage with dark green color, as it is usually older, not sweet and crispy.
- Limit purchasing damaged cabbage with an unusual smell.
How to choose fresh and delicious carrots
- Choose carrots that are deep orange in color, with smooth skin and a small top.
- Choose carrots that still have fresh green leaves, feel firm when squeezed gently, not bruised, and are easy to hold.
- It is advisable to choose medium or small-sized carrots to ensure crispness and sweetness when cooking.
- Avoid choosing very large carrots as they are usually older, lacking sweetness, and not tasty.
- Avoid choosing carrots with black spots, bruised, rotten, cracked, or with green tops.
How to preserve pickled napa cabbage for long-term use
- You can keep pickled napa cabbage at room temperature, tightly covered, but this method only keeps the cabbage usable for about 3 – 4 days.
- Putting pickled napa cabbage in the fridge will preserve it for about 1 month.
The above is a detailed guide on 2 ways to make pickled napa cabbage that are crispy, delicious, and easy to make at home. TasteVN hopes that the simple cooking suggestions we share will help you have more delicious and quality meals prepared by yourself. Wishing you success!
*Refer to images and recipes from the YouTube channel Feedy Delicious Food and Healthy Living
