Sichuan Pao Cai (Brine-Fermented Pickled Vegetables)

Name: Sichuan Pao Cai (Brine-Fermented Pickled Vegetables)
Prep time: 37 min
Cook time: 7 min
Total time: 44 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Sichuan
Ingredients: 10½ oz (300 g) napa cabbage, cored, cut into 1½-inch (4 cm) pieces; 7 oz (200 g) carrots, peeled, cut into ¼-inch (6 mm) thick sticks about 3 inches (7.5 cm) long; 2 whole (30 g) fresh red chilies (such as Fresno or red Thai), left whole, stems trimmed, each pierced once with a knife tip; 1 oz (30 g) fresh ginger, unpeeled, scrubbed, cut into 4 thick slices; 4 whole (15 g) garlic cloves, peeled and lightly smashed; 3 cups (720 ml) filtered water, room temperature to start; 2½ tablespoons (45 g) non-iodized fine sea salt; 2 tablespoons (30 g) rock sugar, lightly crushed into small pieces; 1 tablespoon (6 g) Sichuan peppercorns, whole, any twigs removed; 8 whole (6 g) dried red chilies, left whole; 1 whole (1 g) star anise; 2 tablespoons (30 ml) Shaoxing rice wine

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

Crisp napa cabbage and carrot fermented in a fragrant brine of Sichuan peppercorns, ginger, chilies and rock sugar. The pickles turn tangy, lightly numbing and gently spicy in just three days, and they keep for weeks.

Prep: 37 min
Cook: 7 min
Wait: 3.1 days
Total: 3.1 days
Makes: 1 two-quart (2 L) jar, about 8 side-dish servings

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Ingredients

8 servings

For the vegetables
10½ oz (300 g) napa cabbage, cored, cut into 1½-inch (4 cm) pieces
7 oz (200 g) carrots, peeled, cut into ¼-inch (6 mm) thick sticks about 3 inches (7.5 cm) long
2 whole (30 g) fresh red chilies (such as Fresno or red Thai), left whole, stems trimmed, each pierced once with a knife tip
1 oz (30 g) fresh ginger, unpeeled, scrubbed, cut into 4 thick slices
4 whole (15 g) garlic cloves, peeled and lightly smashed
For the brine
3 cups (720 ml) filtered water, room temperature to start
2½ tablespoons (45 g) non-iodized fine sea salt
2 tablespoons (30 g) rock sugar, lightly crushed into small pieces
1 tablespoon (6 g) Sichuan peppercorns, whole, any twigs removed
8 whole (6 g) dried red chilies, left whole
1 whole (1 g) star anise
2 tablespoons (30 ml) Shaoxing rice wine

Equipment (7)

2-quart (2 L) wide-mouth glass jar with lid
Small saucepan (1½–2 quart / 1.5–2 L)
Sharp knife and cutting board
Kitchen scale
Clean tray or baking sheet lined with a clean towel, for drying the vegetables
Fermentation weight or a small clean glass dish that fits inside the jar mouth
Mortar and pestle or a heavy pan (to crush the rock sugar, optional)

Steps

Before you start

Plan for 3 days of fermenting at room temperature (68–75°F / 20–24°C), plus an hour of cooling and drying on day one.
Use non-iodized salt (fine sea salt or pickling salt) and filtered or boiled-and-cooled water. Iodine and chlorine can slow fermentation.
Wash the jar, lid and weight in hot soapy water and rinse well. Everything that touches the vegetables should be very clean.
Weigh the salt if you can. Table-spoon measures vary between salt brands, and the brine should be about 6% salt.

1
Clean the jar
- Wash the 2-quart jar, lid and fermentation weight in hot soapy water.
- Rinse very well with hot water and set them upside down on a clean towel to drain.
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Ready when: No soap smell or residue remains and the jar is free of film.
Tip: Any grease or dirt on the jar can invite mold. Don't skip the rinse.
2
Cut the vegetables
- Core the napa cabbage and cut it into 1½-inch (4 cm) pieces.
- Peel the carrots and cut them into ¼-inch (6 mm) sticks about 3 inches (7.5 cm) long.
- Pierce each fresh chili once with the tip of a knife.
- Slice the ginger and smash the garlic.
- Keep the aromatics separate from the cabbage and carrots.
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Ready when: The pieces are fairly even in size, so they ferment at the same rate.
Tip: Don't cut the pieces too small. Large pieces stay crisp longer.
3
Boil the brine
- In a small saucepan combine the water, salt, rock sugar, Sichuan peppercorns, dried chilies and star anise.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring once or twice.
- Boil for 3 minutes, then turn off the heat and stir in the Shaoxing wine.
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Ready when: The salt and sugar have fully dissolved and the brine smells fragrant and peppery.
Tip: Boiling the brine drives off chlorine and wakes up the spices. It also means the brine must cool completely before it touches the vegetables.
4
Cool and dry
- Leave the brine in the pan to cool to room temperature, about 60 minutes.
- While it cools, spread the cabbage and carrot pieces on a towel-lined tray and let them air-dry.
- Pat them lightly with a clean towel if they are very wet.
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Ready when: The brine feels neutral or cool when you dip a clean finger in it, and the vegetables look dry on the surface.
Tip: Hot brine will cook the vegetables and kill the good bacteria. Wait until it is fully cool.
5
Pack the jar
- Put the ginger, garlic and fresh chilies in the bottom of the jar.
- Add the carrot sticks, then the cabbage, pressing down firmly so the pieces are snug.
- Leave at least 2 inches (5 cm) of space at the top of the jar.
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Ready when: The jar is about two-thirds full of firmly packed vegetables.
Tip: Packing the jar tightly keeps the vegetables from floating and helps them stay under the brine.
6
Add brine and weigh down
- Pour the cooled brine, with all the spices, over the vegetables until they are fully covered.
- Leave about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of space at the top of the jar.
- Set the fermentation weight on top to hold everything below the surface.
- Close the lid.
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Ready when: All the vegetables are submerged with no pieces poking above the liquid.
Tip: Anything that sits above the brine can grow mold. If the brine falls short, top it up with a little extra 6% brine (1 cup / 240 ml water with 1 tablespoon / 15 g salt).
7
Ferment for 3 days
- Keep the jar at room temperature (68–75°F / 20–24°C), out of direct sunlight, for 3 days.
- Once a day, loosen the lid briefly to let built-up gas escape, then close it again.
- Check that the vegetables are still under the brine and press them down if needed.
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Ready when: The brine turns slightly cloudy and bubbly, and it smells pleasantly sour and spicy.
Tip: A thin white film on the surface may be harmless kahm yeast, which you can skim off. Fuzzy, colored or black spots mean mold, and you should discard the whole jar.
8
Taste and chill
- On day 3, pull out a piece of cabbage and taste it.
- It should be tangy, lightly salty, and have a mild tingle from the peppercorns.
- If it is still mild, ferment for another 24 hours and taste again.
- When it tastes right, refrigerate the jar for at least 1 hour before serving.
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Ready when: The cabbage is crisp and tangy with a clean sour smell, and the carrots are crunchy and bright.
Tip: Fermentation is faster in a warm kitchen. In warm weather, start tasting at 2 days.

Good to know

Tips

Reuse the brine: after the vegetables are gone, add new vegetables with 1 teaspoon of salt and a spoonful of sugar. The second batch ferments faster and tastes more complex.
Keep the vegetables under the brine at all times. This is the most important rule of safe fermentation.
Serve with rice, congee or noodles, or chop and stir-fry with pork or fish for a sour-spicy dish.
Use only clean utensils to take pickles from the jar to keep the brine from spoiling.

Make ahead

"Make a batch up to 1 week ahead. The flavor deepens in the fridge after fermenting, and the pickles are best from day 4 to day 14."

Storage & reheating

"Refrigerate in the brine, with the vegetables submerged, for up to 4 weeks. Serve cold straight from the jar, using a clean fork each time. Don't freeze, because the vegetables turn soft. Discard if you see fuzzy mold or smell something rotten rather than sour."

Substitutions

rock sugar → granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons (8 g). Use less, since granulated sugar is sweeter by volume. The flavor is slightly less mellow.
Shaoxing rice wine → dry sherry or baijiu. Use the same amount. Or leave it out for an alcohol-free brine.
carrots → daikon radish, cucumber or long beans. Cut into sticks of similar size. Cucumber will be ready faster, in about 2 days.
Sichuan peppercorns → fewer peppercorns plus a pinch of black pepper. Use 2 teaspoons of Sichuan peppercorns for a milder tingle.