The taste of sauerkraut

Watching the program "China on the Tongue" inspired me to write an article about food. I thought of the sauerkraut in our hometown.

Speaking of sauerkraut, I believe everyone is familiar with it and may eat it often. Sauerkraut tastes salty and sour, has a crisp texture, bright color, and fragrant aroma. It is appetizing and refreshing, sobers up and removes tiredness. It can not only increase appetite, help digestion, but also promote the body's absorption of iron. Sauerkraut retains the nutrients of the original vegetables to the maximum extent and is rich in vitamin C, amino acids, dietary fiber and other nutrients. A large number of lactic acid bacteria can be produced during the production and storage of sauerkraut. Some data show that lactic acid bacteria are beneficial bacteria in the human intestine and can maintain normal physiological functions of the gastrointestinal tract.

There are many vegetables that can be used to make sauerkraut, such as cucumbers, lotus root slices, cabbage, long beans, lettuce, etc. The sauerkraut made from these vegetables cannot be stored for too long and can only be eaten within a day or two or temporarily. They are generally It is the "prelude" to the banquet on the hotel table. The sauerkraut I am talking about here is sauerkraut pickled with mustard greens. People in Huarong call it pickled cabbage. It can be stored for more than a year. It is stir-fried for chicken, fish and meat. Good seasoning. In the morning, you go to the steamed bun shop and spend two yuan to buy two delicious pickled cabbage steamed buns for a simple breakfast. No matter which big or small hotel you go to, you can always order a stir-fried shredded pork with pickled cabbage or a steaming hot pickled fish hotpot on the menu. The attractive color and tangy aroma will already make people salivate. With such a taste and visual effect, even those with picky tastes will be completely conquered.

Place a jar of pickled sauerkraut under the stove. We can take out a small piece of sauerkraut from the jar, wash and chop it, add garlic, hot sauce and other seasonings, and use rapeseed oil Stir-fry and cool, then put in ice to keep fresh for later use. It is the perfect "cook" when you cook noodles in the morning. Whether you want to eat eel hot pot or deep-fried eel, pickled cabbage is also indispensable, it can remove the fishy smell and enhance the freshness; pickled cabbage with pork is a signature dish during Chinese New Year and festivals, and is a signature dish at banquets; on a hot day, have a big bowl of pickled cabbage minced meat soup or pickled cabbage Egg drop soup adds flavor to relieve heat. In short, sauerkraut plays an indispensable supporting role on our dining table. You can see packages of sauerkraut fish hotpot base on supermarket shelves, as well as the familiar Laotan sauerkraut beef noodles, a small portion The value of sauerkraut has been infinitely increased by people.

Making homemade sauerkraut is simple and easy to learn. Here we will introduce to you our Huarong old method of pickling sauerkraut. You can also try making a small jar to taste it. It is divided into three steps:

1. Drying the mustard greens

Break off the outer skin of the mustard greens, peel off the old skin in front of the mustard stems, cut the mustard greens into two or four parts and hang them on a rope. Dry the branches or anti-theft net for a day until the stems and leaves become soft. (Don’t omit the sun, otherwise the taste will be far different!)

2. Rub the mustard greens

Wash the mustard greens, drain the water, put them in a large basin and sprinkle an appropriate amount of Knead the mustard stems with salt and squeeze out the green juice until the mustard stems are completely soft and can be twisted into a twist like clothes before being placed on the altar.

3. Install the jar

Use a well-sealed vegetable jar to install it layer by layer, and squeeze it down with your fist while loading. Use four fingers on the edge of the jar. Push down hard and press the mustard greens as tightly as possible, which can better isolate the air and store the sauerkraut longer. After a month, the whole house is filled with the fragrance of sauerkraut overflowing from the vegetable jar, and our taste buds In this way, the aroma of sauerkraut continues. I remember that my mother liked to chop the kneaded mustard greens into small pieces. When I was a child, my mother would pickle three big jars of pickled cabbage every year, including salted black bean sauce and spicy radish. In that era of material scarcity, it was my mother’s stir-fried pickled cabbage with wheat sauce; in winter, it was the simple and rough pickled cabbage hot pot on the stove and various kinds of pickled cabbage in the vegetable garden. Vegetables raise us brothers and sisters. Sauerkraut is not only a food in our daily life, it is also a simple life and memory preserved in the years.

The production of sauerkraut has a long history. A small sauerkraut not only has the taste of salt, but also gradually incorporates the taste of sunshine, wind, clouds and... The sweetness of rain and dew, the fragrance of earth. At the same time, there is also the taste of time and human affection. These tastes have been mixed with loneliness, nostalgia, family affection and firm belief for a long time, and they are on the tip of the tongue and in the heart.