My family's kimchi

Some time ago I read an article on Walking Chengdu called "Kimchi Master Wen Xingfa", in which the first sentence is: "Chengdu people love to eat kimchi". This statement is not true at all, as Chengdu people, not only do they love to eat kimchi, but they also make kimchi.

I remember when I was a kid living in Changshun Middle Street, it can be said that every family has one to several kimchi altars. The opposite door of Chen Mum's family has only one kimchi altar, but their altar is the largest in our families, Chen Mum's mother's family in the rural Tuqiao, her brothers and sisters often have to send her some seasonal vegetables, feel their kimchi altar is full at any time.

Next door, Gao Niang's family is small, and her family's quality of life is relatively better. There are two small altars, one is dedicated to soaking sea peppers and ginger, which Gao Niang called a special seasoning altar for making fish-flavored dishes. The other is the altar for soaking vegetables from different periods.

Our family learned how to make kimchi only after we arrived in Sichuan because our parents were from Jiangsu. It is said that the family's two modest kimchi altars were also brought with them when they moved from Neijiang to Chengdu.

The making of kimchi, to put it simply, is to put a certain amount of cold boiled water in a washed altar with some salt, white wine and brown sugar. Newly started kimchi water must go to someone's house to ask for some old kimchi water, and first soak ginger, red pepper, garlic, garlic seedling head and celery head, so that the kimchi water has a fragrant and spicy flavor.

If as eaten now pickled vegetables, generally choose the red skin radish, bamboo shoots, cucumber, etc., this kind of vegetables will not soak for a long time, at most a day, or a few hours, people called bath kimchi. Bathing pickles is best to scoop out the pickle water another bubble, so it will not be bad pickle water.

Pickled cowpeas and pickled cabbage time than pickled radish, bamboo shoots and other bath pickle time to be longer, especially pickled cabbage, at least to soak on more than three days, if it is used as a hot day to cook pickled cabbage soup pickled cabbage, it is necessary to soak for a long time.

Regardless of which kind of vegetables are soaked, it is necessary to wash them first and dry them in the sun, so that the soaked vegetables can be eaten crisply.

Saying that it is simple is not necessarily, some people just do not do a good job of kimchi, either too salty, or sour or raw flowers. As for those who say who's hand out of kimchi, I think that's nonsense, simply impossible. It's all about the ratio of salt, wine, sugar, etc. and the reason for not stirring for a long time and not adding water to the edge of the altar to cut off the air, and so on.

Don't underestimate the kimchi altar, it is in difficult times, to help many families through the unbearable situation. That's why people used to say that watches, bicycles and sewing machines were all "salvaged" from the kimchi altar.

When we were young, the only thing that was not restricted or hidden by adults was the pickle jar.

I remember when I was studying, my classmates would always ask to go to school together, and the first few students who went out would always go to Peng's house and wait for her to finish before going to school, and there were no adults at home during the day.

In our Changshun neighborhood, the way we eat kimchi varies according to each family's living habits and economic reasons. The Chenmu family loves to fish out the kimchi and eat it, while the Gao Niang family is a bit more sophisticated, will fish out the kimchi without a knife to cut the kimchi with their hands to pull the kimchi into small pieces, put some monosodium glutamate, red oil mix up to eat. We love to cut the kimchi into fine pieces and then squeeze the water out of the kimchi and put it in a pot to dry and flatten it before frying it in oil. If it is fried new pickles, sometimes add some minced meat in it, so that the pickles are either under the rice or clip pot helmet, steamed bread is very tasty, even now I love this fried pickles to eat. According to my father said that this way to eat kimchi will not grow roundworms. So that when we were young, instead of envying the high mother's family kimchi delicious.

When I was a child, I heard adults say: "You have to rush to pickle before the Qingming Festival, and this period of time is tender and cheap, only two or three cents a catty. Our family altar and small, my father love to do so pickled vegetables: is to buy home after the vegetables to separate it a horse, with two days time to dry it will be washed and then wait for the water to dry soak in the altar, three days after the fish out with a knife and cut into thin silk in the dustbin dry (even if the altar is small can be repeated to the inside of the soaked green vegetables), and finally will be sun-dried soaked green vegetables loaded into a mouth is very small, there is no altar along the altar jar, the top Put some clean grass on the surface, seal the mouth of the altar, the mouth down upside down, when the vegetables off-season or when the family does not have money to buy vegetables to take out to do soup, steamed meat, or with warm water to send a fried up to eat is very good food.

And this kimchi in the process of sunshine is the most favorite children, grabbed in the mouth can eat. I remember our Changshun Middle Street neighbor Zhang Laowu is the most favorite eat my home this sunshine pickle.

Nowadays, with the abundance of material, kimchi plays a role in regulating people's appetite. If a family wants to invite guests, then kimchi must be indispensable. I now invite guests, like to do this kind of kimchi to guests: that is to buy a few large red sea pepper, cut it into two halves, the inside of the sea pepper boy removed, washed clean and sunshine for a few hours. With a large bowl of kimchi altar kimchi water scooped out half a bowl, add about two taels of sugar, with chopsticks in the kimchi water will be sugar stirring melt the red pepper will be dehydrated soaked in kimchi water for about three hours after the fish out of the shape of two centimeters square, plate can be eaten. (You can also pickle radish, bamboo shoots, cucumber, etc.) This kimchi is colorful, crispy, moderately salty and sweet, and it is an excellent dish to eat after drinking, and it is very popular when it is served on the table.

And the practice of this pickle, or eat two restaurant pickles inspired. One is ten years ago in the PI District of Jiang ribs ate, the other is a few years ago in Emeishan City, the famous Rongsheng radish soup restaurant ate, their kimchi is this flavor, especially popular. These two families of kimchi have a **** the same point, is: fragrant, crisp, sweet, and eat no longer add any seasoning.

Kimchi water can not be years and years of non-replacement, especially soaked in garlic brine, I believe that as long as the people who have been soaked know that long did not uncover the kimchi altar cover, a uncovered will be a kind of such as a toilet bowl son of the same unpleasant taste. So not only is the pickle to be diligent to fish and change, is the pickle water should be replaced once every few years, so that the pickle water looks clear and good smell.

Kimchi, Chengdu people's favorite! In fact, there are many kinds of practices ......