Pickled Napa Cabbage Recipes

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.

PICKLED NAPA CABBAGE, CARROTS, AND SNOW PEAS

Steps:

• Bring vinegar, sugar, ginger, salt, garlic, and cloves to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then remove from heat and let steep, uncovered, 30 minutes. Discard cloves.
• While pickling liquid steeps, blanch carrots in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water 30 seconds, then transfer with a large slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking. Lift out carrots with slotted spoon and drain in a colander. Transfer to paper towels and pat dry.
• Blanch snow peas in same pot of boiling water 30 seconds, then transfer to ice water, drain, and pat dry in same manner. Cut each snow pea lengthwise into 4 strips.
• Blanch cabbage in same pot of boiling water 5 seconds, then transfer to ice water, drain, and pat dry.
• Just before serving, toss vegetables with pickling liquid and chile in a large bowl.

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

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.

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.