Pickled mustard greens is a common side dish in Vietnamese cuisine, and is often served when there are other fry dishes or those that contain oil and fat. In Vietnamese, it’s called cải chua or dưa cải, or sometimes dưa cải chua. Mustard greens are pungent-tasting greens that come from the mustard plant (Brassica juncea L., Vietnamese: cải cay).
Pickled mustard greens can also be used as a cooking ingredient source for acidity in some sour soup dishes, or can be stewed with beefs. In general, pickled mustard greens to the Vietnamese people is like kimchi to the Koreans, though basically it doesn’t have chilli pepper in the recipe.
Pasteurize the jar(s) in boiling hot water if necessary, and let it/them dehydrated.
Mix boiled water with salt and sugar with this ratio: 1 liter of boiled water, 20 g sugar, 60 g coarse salt. Add the greens into a pickle jar and pour the brine water into it. Make sure the stalk parts deep down the jar, while the leafy pieces on top. Next, add some extra vegetables like Asian shallots or spring onions, and some sliced peppers. Make sure all the vegetables get submerged in the briny water. Finally, add some vinegar to speed up the fermentation process.
Bring the sealed jars under the sun on the first day if possible, and then in cool areas the next day.
Picked mustard greens is ready to served after 2 days.