People's Republic of Fermentation // Episode 01: Mrs. Ding's Pickles

Learning how to ferment vegetables, the Chinese way (pao-cai), from Mrs. Ding in Chengdu.

We meet her in front of her apartment, when we stop to admire and photograph the sausages she has hanging there to cure, and she invites us in, sends us to the market with her husband, feeds us an elaborate feast, and then shows us some different ways she ferments vegetables.


// PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF FERMENTATION //

presented by: The Foundation For Fermentation Fervor

with: Sandor Katz
http://www.wildfermentation.com/

and Mara King
http://ozuke.com/

directed, filmed, edited by: Mattia Sacco Botto
https://mattiasaccobotto.pixieset.com...

additional editing: Fabrizio Grasso
http://fabriziograsso.com/


// EPISODE 01 RECIPES // by Mara King

- MR. DING'S TWICE-COOKED PORK (HUI GUO ROU)

2 lbs pork belly
1 tsp Sweet Jiang (or Hoisin sauce)
1 tsp Doubanjiang
1 tsp fermented chili paste (or hot sauce)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp light soy sauce
2-3 oz green onions, chopped

Place pork belly in boiling water for 3-5 minutes (depending on the thickness of the pork). You want the inside of the meat to be pink and the outside firm. Drain and cool down. Then slice as thinly as you can.

Heat wok or pan, then add the pork. If the fat side is substantial, no need to add other fat for frying. Otherwise add a little oil so the meat doesn't stick to the pan.

Sprinkle with salt and sugar and move vigorously at high heat. Add sweet jiang, doubanjiang, chili paste, garlic and ginger. Stir vigorously until all ingredients are well coated over the pork. Finally drizzle soy sauce and stir in the green onions. Once incorporated and the onions begin to soften a little, the dish is ready - serve and enjoy!


- MRS. DING'S FERMENTED CHILI PASTE, LA JIAO JIANG

2 lbs fresh chilis (large chiles like Fresnos or ripened hatch chiles; avoid small super-hot chiles like Thai bird or Serranos)
1.5 tbs salt
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
2 bayleaves
2 pods black cardamom
1 piece San Nai (dried galangal, can sub fresh galangal or ginger)
3 pieces star anise
1 cup oil (Mrs Ding uses extra virgin rapeseed oil, can sub canola oil or extra virgin olive oil)

Remove stems, then chop the chilis very fine. You can leave the seeds in for more spice. Handle with care: use gloves, especially when working with hot chilis.

Toss chilis in salt and spread out in a large bowl (with round edges, so the chilis don't dry out) and put in a sunny spot for 24 hours.

Strain and squeeze out as much liquid as possible using a cheese cloth or strainer and wooden spoon.

Mix dried chilis with half the oil, then press into a wide mouth ball jar. Gently cover the chile mixture with the rest of the oil.

Cover with lid and put in a sunny spot for 4-5 days before transferring indoors to a cool dark spot. Ferment for at least 3 months.


- MRS. DING'S QUICK PICKLING BRINE

5 cups boiled water
2 tsp salt
2 tsp malt sugar (can use Maltose, readily available at Asian Food markets; can sub barley malt sugar, or rice syrup or regular cane sugar)
3 slices ginger
2 tsp Sichuan peppercorn
5 pc dried chilis
2 pc black cardamom
Veggies for pickling in brine, like - radish, daikon radish, cabbage, onion, carrot, cucumber.

Pour boiled water into 1/2 gallon ball jar. Add salt, sugar and spices whilst still warm. Once brine has cooled to the point that you can put your hand in it add vegetables for pickling.

The first batch of vegetables should take 1-2 weeks to ferment until sour.

Once the brine has been "primed" you can add new vegetables and take them out after a day or two, when they should be nice and crisp and sour. The more seasoned the brine, the faster the pickling time.

Keep hands clean when handling the pickling brine to avoid it going off. If it develops a yeast layer on top add a tablespoon of hard alcohol. Mrs. Ding uses Huang Jiu, China's ubiquitous sorghum spirit, but a splash of vodka or gin should do the trick too.


// GLOSSARY - NOTES //

Flower Peppercorn and Sichuan Peppercorn - two ways of saying the same thing.

Five Flower Belly / Five Flower Pork - reference to the kind of pork belly used by Mr. Ding that has a layer of skin, two thick layers of fat and two layers of lean meat.

Black Cardamom or Black Cardamon - Commonly used in Southeast Asian Cuisine. Has a very different flavor profile from more commonly seen Green Cardamon or Cardamom. It has a smoky, leathery aroma as apposed to the more floral green variety. Can be found at local Asian food stores.

Malt Sugar - the Ding Ding Tang depicted in the episode is basically the taffy version of Maltose or Malt Syrup.

San Nai - Chinese medicinal name for dried galangal, aka Kaempteria Rhizoma.

Rapeseed Oil - Commonly found in Southwest China. From the mustard green plant. It has a smoky, nutty and slightly spicy aroma and is lightly brown in color.






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