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Our pickled Bitter Melon offers a delightful crispiness, beautifully golden and visually appealing. Paired with boiled pork belly dipped in fish sauce, it elevates family meals to perfection. Making delicious pickled bitterness is simple, ensuring it turns golden quickly, stays tangy, and avoids sogginess. Discover the art with PasGo Team!
• Prepare and prep ingredients: Approximately 2 - 3 hours
• Pickling process: About 15 minutes
For the most delicious pickled vegetables, opt for the Bitter Melon variety.
Step 1: Prepare the pickled Bitter Melon ingredients
To create superb pickled Bitter Melon, gather the following ingredients:
- Bitter Melon or Green Mustard Greens: 500g (if using mustard greens, opt for slightly older bunches for better flavor)
- Spring Onions: 100g
- Shallots: 3-5 bulbs
- Rock Salt: 60g
- Granulated Sugar: 20g
- Vinegar: 3 teaspoons
- Fresh Chili Peppers: 1 - 3, depending on your preference for spiciness.
- Ceramic jar or glass jar
- Bamboo pickling weights
Note to prevent Bitter Melon pickles from becoming soggy
- Avoid using plastic jars for pickling Bitter Melon (even when soaking in apricot water, vinegar,...). Because pickled vegetables contain a lot of salt, acidity, and acid, these substances left in plastic jars for a long time will chemically react with the plastic's plasticizer compounds, producing many toxic substances into the food, which is harmful to the body.
- The secret to making delicious pickled Bitter Melon is to press the Bitter Melon down under the water surface to ensure even soaking and prevent sogginess. If you have bamboo pickling tools, you can use a small plate or bowl that fits the mouth of the glass jar and a clean plastic bag to hold the water as a weight.
Step 2. Prepare the pickled Bitter Melon ingredients
2.1 Prepare the Bitter Melon and Spring Onions
- Trim the base of the Bitter Melon, separate the older leaves, discard wilted ones, then wash each leaf thoroughly. Be gentle while washing. One of the reasons for quick pickle spoilage is having too many wilted leaves remaining.
- Trim the base of the Spring Onions, wash them clean, then cut into 2-3cm sections and split them in half.
- Sun-dry the basket of Bitter Melon and Spring Onions for about 2 - 3 hours to allow the leaves to wilt.
- After sun-drying, cut the vegetables into 3 - 5 cm pieces, then wash them thoroughly, allowing them to drain before salting. Pay attention to separate the stem and leaves while cutting.
- Peel and wash the Shallots, then slice them thinly.
Remove all wilted leaves and wash gently - the secret to keeping pickled Bitter Melon crunchy and crisp
Note:
- Remember to spread them evenly to allow the vegetables to drain, with the leaf surface slightly dry. Avoid exposing them to direct sunlight, just light sunlight is sufficient.
- Sun-dried vegetables result in crunchier, golden, and tastier pickles. But if there's no sun, you can air-dry them in a cool, breezy place for about half a day, until the leaves slightly wilt.
Sun-drying ensures beautifully golden, crispy pickles that aren't soggy, slimy, or discolored
2.2 How to make delicious pickling brine
- Prepare about 1 liter of warm water around 50-60 degrees Celsius, then dissolve sugar and salt in the water at a ratio of 3 salt to 1 sugar. Note: Too salty will make the pickles crunchy but difficult to eat, too bland and the pickles won't be tangy and may become soggy and discolored.
- Finally, add 3 teaspoons of vinegar to give the pickled vegetables a beautiful golden color.
The sugar-salt ratio when preparing the brine is the most important step in making delicious pickled vegetables.
Step 3. Pickle the sour vegetables
- Layer the glass jar with vegetables in the following order: stems at the bottom, followed by leaves, and on top are spring onions, shallots, and fresh chili peppers.
- Pour the prepared warm water into the jar, completely covering the vegetables. Then use a pickling weight to press the vegetables down, ensuring they are fully submerged in water.
- Seal the jar and wait for about 1 - 2 days if it's sunny, or 3 - 4 days if it's winter, then it's ready to eat.
Note:
- To preserve pickled vegetables for longer, once they're ready, you can divide them into small jars and store them in the refrigerator for gradual consumption.
- Fresh pickled vegetables (pickled for about 1 day) are slightly spicy; adding a bit of sugar and chili makes them a delightful addition to family meals, even without fish or meat.
- Pickled vegetables left to ferment for longer (> 1 week) develop a delicious sourness. They can be used in fish stews, stir-fried dishes, or beef stir-fries. Dishes made from pickled vegetables are loved by many, especially children, adding diversity and laughter to family meals.
Pickled vegetables can be stored in the fridge for gradual consumption once they're ready.
Now you know how to pickle delicious, golden, fragrant pickled vegetables without worrying about spoilage. Wasn't that difficult at all, was it? Try making pickled Bitter Melon this weekend to add another delicious dish to your family's daily meals, it's clean, safe, and economical.
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Wishing you happiness and success!
Phương Thùy & PasGo Team
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