When the cabbage was pickled and ready to eat, my mother would take a basket of the finished product, squeeze out the excess water, and cut it into pieces of varying lengths depending on the dish or whether it was to be eaten with rice. My father loved pickled cabbage, so there was always a plate of pickled cabbage on the table. Even though the pieces were already cooked, my father liked to dip them in a little bit of fish sauce with lime and chili. The plate of pickled cabbage on the table was most appetizing when served with braised fish or meat dishes. Picking up a piece of pickled cabbage, my father recounted how, in the old days in the North, his grandmother used to pour the pickled cabbage juice over his rice. He said, "Back then, she made delicious pickled cabbage!"
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My mother's old dishes with pickled mustard greens were often sour soup with catfish or snakehead fish; braised with pork belly or mackerel; stir-fried with pig's intestines or tripe... Those delicious dishes from my childhood are truly unforgettable.
Then, I don't remember when my mother stopped pickling cabbage, but it became one of the ingredients she bought at the market for her dishes.
Later, after starting my own family, I also made pickled cabbage myself a few times. Unlike in the old days, I used to buy cabbage, wash it, cut it into bite-sized pieces, then dry and pickle it according to a ratio suggested by friends. I put it in a glass jar, adding a little chopped onion and chili for garnish. But then, I don't know when, I became like my mother used to, no longer making pickled cabbage myself. If I wanted to eat it, I'd buy it from outside for convenience. "Picking cabbage is a matter of personal preference," and although the method was still simple—drying the cabbage until wilted, soaking it in water and salt according to a certain ratio—each pickled cabbage vendor had their own unique flavor. I'd only buy from the vendor I was familiar with. They sold it not only in the market but also in front of houses and in the neighborhood. I remember some afternoons after work, when the weather was cool and I craved pickled cabbage, I would often stop by a pickled vegetable and fruit stall on Thong Nhat Street to buy a bag of pickled cabbage. A plate of pickled cabbage with rice was very appetizing. Back then, my family often had sour cabbage soup with beef, which my children loved. Pickled cabbage braised with roasted pork was also a delicious, easy-to-eat and easy-to-make dish. I put a thin layer of pickled mustard greens at the bottom of the pot, then the roasted pork, and another layer of pickled mustard greens on top. The juices from the pickled mustard greens blended with the flavor of the roasted pork, making it perfectly seasoned without needing any additional spices...
Pickled mustard greens are a familiar dish to Vietnamese people, whether in winter or summer, eaten with stews, fried dishes, or boiled dishes. In some regions, a little pickled mustard greens is added to a plate of chicken rice or fried rice. Sometimes, it's just a side dish added by the restaurant even if the customer didn't order it...
Having traveled to many places, I've noticed several different ways of pickling cabbage, depending on family or local customs. Some places even use rice water for pickling. Therefore, even though it's still pickled cabbage, you can find some unique and interesting flavors.
KIM DUY
Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/van-hoa/202603/dua-cai-thang-gieng-2ef6b5e/
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