When I was in Hawaii this summer, I tried sin choi for the first time with Nate.
Sin choi is a pickled mustard cabbage that is sweet-sour in flavor.
I scribbled down this recipe from my mom's stash.
Sin Choi Chow Jee Yuk (Pickled mustard cabbage & Pork) adapted from Honolulu Gas Co. February 1965
Make the Sin Choi (pickled mustard cabbage)
5 bunches of komatsuna (Japanese mustard cabbage), washed and cut into bite sized pieces
1 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar
Bring all liquid ingredients to a boil
Fill a bottle with the komatsuna and pour liquid over komatsuna
NOTES: The original recipe wanted you to blanch the cabbage before putting the sauce over, but I thought that way would be
For the pork:
135 grams thinly sliced pork, cut into bite sized pieces
pre-seasoning:
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon shoyu
gravy:
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon shoyu
*Mix well so there are no lumps
In a bowl, put the thinly sliced pork, and pre-seasoning ingredients, mixing well, to coat.
In a pan, heat 1/2 tablespoon of oil and add the meat.
Just before pork is fully cooked, add some sin choi
Then at the last moment, add the gravy ingredients.
When the gravy starts to thicken over the pork and sin choi, take off the heat.
Serve over rice.
NOTES: the sin choi wasn't as sweet-sour as the one I tried at Lam's, maybe because the vinegar I used is Japanese and not distilled white vinegar or chinese vinegar?! Still, this was delicious and you'll need a lot of rice.
I'm making this again, maybe with shrimp or ika (squid).
Haha. I recognized it's Chinese by the sound of it but I won't be able to remember if you ask me 1 min later. lol. You are good at memorizing this! Looks delicious. Komatsuna... natsukashiiiiii!!
ReplyDeleteOh Boy does that look good. I am going to try this. Do you think it would work with plain cabbage?
ReplyDeleteI make my own sin choy , and I really rec. that you blanch the cabbage. Its just a matter of dipping them in boiling water for less than a min. The blanching helps to "cook" the cabbage and break it down so that it can better absorb the pickling. Its a crucial step. The color of the cabbage will be deep green and you will have that pickled flavor.
ReplyDeleteAnother step is to let the cabbage cool off after blanching and then sprinkling with coarse salt. No need to add any to the bottle. Just vingegar.
I put mines in a ziploc. It keeps for a long while.
btw your original recipe may need more vinegar, for that much cabbage I would add 1/8c or more of vinegar. It wont be overpowering and if it is you can just rinse it :)
ReplyDeleteI knew this was going to be a good post from the title! ;) Grandma makes a similar dish to this, though hers seems to be saucier with a gravy we pour over rice. Such a good cool weather dish! ^_^
ReplyDeleteThanks Nami, I wouldn't be able to remember the Chinese name a minute later either :)
ReplyDeleteI would try to use mustard cabbage if possible Anon.
Thanks Anon, will try blanching it & thanks for the vinegar tip too.
Thanks Kathy, I bet your Grandma's dish is delicious!
Take care everyone.
Kat
That looks very good Kat!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kirk :)
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Kat
This looks really good and I will have to give it a try :)
ReplyDeleteJapan Australia
For sin choi, I don't boil the sauce or blanch the mustard cabbage. I just mix the sauce, stirring until everything dissolves (I use apple cider vinegar). And I put everything in a bowl and lomi a bit before stuffing into a bottle, pouring whatever sauce is left in too. Then leave in refrigerator 3~4 days.
ReplyDeleteJapanese mustard cabbage!!! Really???
ReplyDeleteDon't now how I'll go getting hold of some of that...
hope you like it J-A!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip too Nate :)
if you can't get Japanese mustard cabbage, AC, use regular mustard cabbage.
Take care everyone.
Kat
Just a note about blanching :)
ReplyDeleteIt gives you alot more room in the pickling jar when its blanched and its easier to pack since the cabbage is softer.Plus you can gently layer it to avoid breaking the leaves and the stems. It not only saves space but time.
Secondly it makes for a faster pickle, Ive eaten mines the next day.
thanks Anon!
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Kat
The title made me smack my lips!
ReplyDeleteglad you enjoyed it Rowena :)
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Kat
Sweet-Sour Chinese Mustard Pickles
ReplyDelete2 cups water
2 pounds kai choy (mustard cabbage), in bite-size pieces
1 tablespoon slivered ginger
» Pickling sauce:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon Hawaiian salt
Bring water to boil; add cabbage, stirring until cabbage darkens and glistens, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain.
Bring pickling sauce ingredients to boil, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar. Pour over cabbage. Add ginger. Mix well. Bottle and refrigerate 3 to 5 days before eating.
From a recent staradertiser story, recipe from the "Pickle Ladys Cookbook "
thanks Anon!
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Kat
It looks like a yummy meal. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you ever considered changing the layout of your blog?
ReplyDeleteIts very well written; I love what youve
got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people
could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or
2 images. Maybe you could space it out better?
Thanks for your input Anon!
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Kat