hot Sichuan pickles

What do I put in my jar? (video)

2008-11-14T02:25:00.001+01:00

“Sometimes a picture says more than a thousand words.” This is especially true for food, which is a sensual thing par excellence. So here is a video that shows you how to make Sichuan pickles:

Basically, no specific skill is needed. It all comes down to the right ingredients and a good jar.

If you didn’t recognize all the ingredients, here they are:

basic ingredients: salt (don’t be shy on it), dried chilly peppers, Sichuan pepper, young ginger, white spirit (not much) and cold boiled water

some vegetables to pickle: turnip, cabbage, cucumber, garlic sprouts, radish, carrots, … (I recently pickled some Brussels sprouts and they taste great).

Beautiful pickles jar

2008-10-28T00:32:00.001+01:00

In this picture you can see a beautiful pickles jar from the Qing dynasty(1644-1912). It is exhibited in the Museum of Sichuan Cuisine (川菜博物馆).

The traditional pickles jar is fundamental for making good Sichuan pickles and can be found in every household. It is made out of argil, which is glazed on the outside. Very important is the cover that has to be completely hermetic.

The Museum of Sichuan Cuisine is a new private museum that opened in 2007 in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. I found the picture on this blog. The museum apparently doesn't have a website. Instead I found this video clip that was filmed at the museum. It looks to me like a parody of Chinese pop music. The lyrics are about Sichuan cuisine and are sung half in Mandarin half in Sichuan dialect:

Teaser

2008-10-18T18:24:00.001+02:00

If this picture makes you salivate, than you will like this blog!