Inspired by Babel by R.F. Kuang
This recipe was inspired by ‘Babel’ by R.F. Kuang, a dark academia historical fantasy book with roots in Oxford and Canton. I also created Beef Chow Fun and New College Pudding. Please enjoy the recipes and book review!
This recipe is adapted from Patricia Tanumihardja’s book, ‘Asian Pickles At Home’. It is a fabulous book with a range of various pickled goodies, I have made several recipes from this book and have gifted many jars of these pickles to delighted friends. They are perfect with the Beef Chow Fun, on top of teriyaki chicken, or even alongside a fried egg and rice.
In Babel, one of the main protagonists is Robin Swift, who was born in Canton, China. Throughout the book, there are several mentions and flashbacks to Canton and I wanted to cook something that has Cantonese roots in it as an homage to Robin. This prompted me to cook an adaption of J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s Beef Chow Fun, that recipe is adapted from ‘The Wok’ cookbook and his Youtube channel. I knew a I wanted something pickled to go along with it, and these provided the perfect tang and zip I was looking for.
To finish out the Babel-inspired menu, I made New College Pudding for dessert. Click the link to learn why it is named that!
You can read my review of Babel here, and you can purchase the book through Bookshop.org (affiliate link to help support The Booktender Cafe, at no extra cost to you).
If you try this recipe out, I’d love to see what you make! Please tag me on Instagram @thebooktendercafe
Sweet and Sour Pickled Chinese Mustard Cabbage
This recipe is adapted from Patricia Tanumidharja's cookbook, 'Asian Pickles at Home'. The sweet and sour brine gives the pickled mustard cabbage greens a nice tang. These pickles will be ready in as short as two days, then move the jars to the refrigerator to enjoy up to 3-4 months. You can find Chinese mustard cabbage (also called gai choy), at your local Asian food market. This recipe is not the traditional salted, pickled mustard cabbage, for that I put a recipe link from The Woks of Life in the Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2 clean, sanitized pint jars and lids
- Food-safe weights, for submerging vegetables in brine (see Notes on using a kimchi container or crock)
- 2 lbs Chinese mustard cabbage (about 2 cabbages), gai choy. Rinsed and cut into 1 to 2", bite-sized pieces
- Brine:
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt (if using Diamond Crystals, add a little pinch extra)
- Additions:
- 1 piece (about 1/2-inch) fresh ginger, peeled, and cut into 4 equal slices
- 4 small to medium garlic cloves, peeled (or 2 large garlic cloves), optional
- Pinch of chili flakes, optional
Instructions
- Start boiling a large pot of water on medium-high heat. Once boiling, add the mustard cabbage. Stir the cabbage until it darkens in colors, roughly 2-3 minutes. Drain the cabbage in a colander and let it cool.
- In a small saucepan, combine the water, distilled vinegar, salt, and sugar, over medium-heat. Once boiling, stir until both the salt and sugar have dissolved fully. Take off the heat and et the brine cool.
- Split the cabbage between the two pint jars, pushing down as necessary to fit. Add 2 slices of the ginger and 2 garlic cloves (or 1 if large) to each jar, again pushing down as necessary. Sprinkle a small pinch of chili flakes in each jar, if using. Pour half of the brine into one jar, and the other half in the second jar. Place a weight inside the jar to keep the cabbage fully submerged, if not using a crock or vacuum-sealed fermentation container.
- Let the jars sit in a cold, dark cabinet for at least two days. Transfer to the refrigerator. These will keep for roughly 3-4 months if refrigerated. Make sure to use a clean utensil when getting pickles out of the jar, as to not introduce anything foreign to the brine.
Notes
The Woks of Life have a fantastic post about traditionally salted, pickled mustard cabbage, you can find that recipe here.