Friday, March 13, 2009

How to make Kiam Chye




I wonder how many households are still making preserved vegetables such as kiam chye(salted pickled mustard), mui choy and chai poh (salted raddish) for their own consumption. It is disheartening to see the art of making these traditional foods may see its day here numbered and heading into oblivion. Most people conveniently buy them from the market these days, but with your help and support these classic recipes can continue here for those seeking to create the authentic taste of our traditional countryside cooking that we have left behind



Ingredients:

1 bunch green mustard(kai choi)
11/4 cup sea salt, additional if needed.
6 cups rice water (the water used in washing rice and collected after the rice is washed)











Collect the water used in washing the rice and leave overnight to begin the process of fermentation.















Wilt the green mustard(kai choi) in the sun for a couple of hours. Rub in 1/2 cup of salt to draw out moisture from the wilted green mustard.














Mix and stir 1/2 cup salt in the rice water. Sea salt is used here and recommended because table salt contains anti-caking agent. Immerse green mustard into rice water and weigh down (a plate and pestle is used here).









Using a plate and pestle to apply pressure for the next 3 to 5 days while fermentation takes place.
















Once the secret is learned, one of the most versatile preserved vegetables is at one's disposal. Kiam chye is not only a wonderful side dish but also used in many superb dishes like Kiam chye ark (Duck soup) Chye boey, and the mouth watering ikan assam pedas. By the way, the salted eggs that were made at the start of this blog.... simply delicious.























34 comments:

  1. AWESOME!! first time i actually see a kiam chye being made...!

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  2. wow i wan to try making soon!! but i no space to sun the veg

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  3. Hi Danny,
    This recipe was handed down by word of mouth from my grandmother to my late mother. I do not wish to be the last recipient and happy to past it to anyone who is interested.

    Cheers.

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  4. Green mustard in supermarket is named as what? i see the cos lettuce look like this can it be use to make kiam chye?

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  5. Hi BY,
    It is known as Kai Choy and it is seasonal and is available at this time of the year. You should be able to get them at the Asian stores. You may also get them at Harris Farm. Do not use Cos lettuce. But you can use Choy Sum when the Kai Choy is out of season.

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  6. i remember wat i want to cook with kiam chye already. i want to eat pig blood with kiam chye!!!
    i am going to make it soon!!!

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  7. Hi BY,
    It is interesting that you are cooking kiam chye with pig blood. Tell us where you can find them. I was told you can buy them from the Asian butcher shop. Because some people may find it revolting to see the congealed blood they are not displayed in the shop. I presume you have to ask for it verbally. Yao Chu Hong mai mah? (Do you have any pig red? in Cantonese)

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  8. can buy at parramatta mmeat market in parramatta

    hee hee

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  9. Awesome, I've never tasted Kiam Chye like this, 1st: very chunchy, 2nd: not very salty and best of all to my knowledge is no preservatives are added. Thanks Uncle Phil.

    Cheers
    Lim

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  10. Hi Phil

    How long do I have to leave the salted dry kuak chye aside before putting in the salted rice water? Do I squeeze out the excess "water"?

    What type of container (plastic? stainless steel?)should I use to make the kiam chye?

    SD

    Can I

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  11. Hi SD,
    Leave them overnight to draw out any water in the wilted kuak chye. Drain away any water before putting into the salted rice water. Plastic and Stainless steel are OK. Preferably earthen or ceramic container.
    Cheers

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  12. hi, I chanced upon this blog and wow.. I'm so impressed with this. It looks good.. but I just have a small question.. Do you use the first water from the first washing of the rice or the second (or third) washing. The reason I ask this is because I use the water from washing my rice to water my plants but I've learnt from a forum not to use the first washing because it'd contain talcum which is what keeps the rice from sticking together. And.. hm.. won't there also be dust and sometimes some crawlies from the first wash?

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  13. I was searching for "Kiam Chye" on Google stumbled upon your site. I love "Kiam Chye Ark". BTW, I am from Singapore.

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  14. Hi Seow Kiang,
    Thanks for your visit. It is nice to know another fellow Singaporean reading my blog. BTW, are you an Overseas Singaporean?
    Cheers,
    Phil

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  15. I am born and bred in Singapore. Still hanging around.

    Seow Kiang

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  16. Thank you, Uncle Phil!! It's so hard to find kiam chye here in MTL but I miss it so much!!! =D Now, I can make my favourite kiam chye aar tng any time!

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  17. Hi Anonymous,
    I am glad that you are trying to make kiam chye at MTL. BTW where is MTL?
    Cheers.

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  18. Hi Uncle Philip, I must share my joy. I have just tasted the fruit of my "labour" - i just made my first kiam chye. It has quite a rich flavour, a little crunchy and little saltish. Brine water turns yellowish. I have thrown away the brine water and rinsed the kiam chye about 5 types. Still slightly salty. Fridge it and thinking of making kiam chye soup with pork ribs tomorrow. But before i cook it, i need to check with you on my findings : I actually soaked my green mustard with rice water + salt for 15 days (instead of your 5 days). Reason is because there is not much sun light at my home and so did not really sun-dry green mustard well. Today when i open the pot, I found quite a lot of whitish stuff floating on surface of the water. There is also a speck of blackish 'mould' on the surface of water. I thought whole thing has gone mouldy but there is no foul smell. In fact, the smell is just like market-bought kiam chye, quite nice. So i just proceed to rinse kiam chye thoroughly and fridge it now. But it is still quite saltish. Need you advice whether my kiam chye is successful and edible ? May i know why is there white patches on surface of brine water? Thank you in advcance for your advice. Once i hear from you, if my kiam chye is ok, then i will make kiam chye soup. - Wendy Ho from Singapore

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  19. Hi Wendy,
    It is nice to know you have joined me to preserve our traditional Chinese process of making kiam chye at home. The whitish patches floating on the surface of the brine are perfectly safe and the natural result of fermentation. You will find that your homemade kiam chye is very versatile and can be used as condiment, as relish with your rice porridge or for making kiam chye soup. To make kiam chye soup, it must be reconstituted in fresh water before thay are used and then flavoured with additional ingredients such as ginger, tomato,green onions and sesame oil.
    Please enjoy your homemade kiam chye!

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  20. Dear Uncle Philip, i have made kiam chye soup with pork rips and my family ejoy it very much. Home-made kiam chye is full of veg flavour, texture is very nice and every bite seems to burst with "life" and not limp like those commercial-made. Thank you once again for sharing with us your traditional and tested recipe.

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  21. really helpful!! uncle, i actually have an assignment about the ferment vege.. so our group chose these kiam chye.. so can u gv us some important information about kiam chye in detail.. from wut i knew, these type of vege pickles also produced by kadazan people in sabah but they called it 'namsoon kuasai'..

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  22. Hi Oya,
    Thanks for visiting my blog. I am not familiar with the Kadazan language but "kuasai" sound like "tuasai" in the Hokkien dialect for the vegetable used in this recipe. Please let me know about the result for your assignment.

    Cheers and good luck,
    Uncle Phil

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  23. Uncle Phil,

    Thank you for sharing and I can't wait to try it out. Someone I knew made it by adding lightly crushed fresh turmeric to the mixture. What's your opinion?

    Cheers,
    Sophia

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    Replies
    1. Hi Sophia,
      Thanks for visiting my blog. Was turmeric added as a food colouring? I add Turmeric as a natural food colouring to some of my recipes but it does impart a strong flavour to the food.

      Cheers,
      Phil

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  24. Uncle Phil, I really like your recipes as it gives me a chance to reproduce from scratch all the goodies my granny used to cook for me. Now that she is long gone, making all these yummy traditional food brings back all my memories of my granny and my childhood. Thank you so much! By the way, I have been making your kiam chye with great success many times. Even my mother-in-law likes the kiam chye!

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  25. I would like to try making this preserved veg but I hardly eat rice. Can I use plain boiled water in place of rice water? Thanks.

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  26. Hi Uncle Phil, I stumbled upon your blog when googling for home-made chai poh.

    Thank you for your kiam chye and taucheo recipes. There's nothing like home-made coz it's preservative free.

    If you have a recipe for home-made chai poh, could you kindly share it? I'd be eternally grateful! :)

    Thank you and have a nice day.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for visiting my blog. I have a home-made chai poh which I have inherited from my grandmother and I will share it with you soon.

      Regards,
      Phil

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    2. super kiam chai! I am a Filipino Chinese (Hookien) working in Dubai and I have to make my own stuff here. Cant wait for the chai poh!

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  27. Thanks for sharing this dying art of making your own preserved vegetables. Would love to learn how to make 'mui choy' too.

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  28. Thank you for sharing this recipe! I used to eat kiam chye frequently as a child. My aunts would make this by the bucketload. We're Teochew in California, by way of Vietnam. Haven't had any kiam chye since moving far away after college. Can't wait to try this out.

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    Replies
    1. Hi JT,
      Happy New Year! My maternal grandmother is also Teochew too, and some of my family recipes were passed down from her.

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  29. Hi Phil

    Thumb up for sharing your family recipe. Not all people will do that as they rather keep it for themselves. I would like to ask whether can I boil the rice until it cooked then add in the rice water to the mustard after putting it in a large glass container.

    Thanks
    Amy

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    Replies
    1. Hi Amy,
      Please use the "rice water " which you collected after rinsing your rice.

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