In the early days, Hakkas migrated to Taiwan
and lived near mountainous areas. In order to easily carry and preserve food,
they developed a long-term preservation method for dried and pickled food. Due
to the diligent work ethics of the Hakka people, they sweated a lot and must
supplement their salt intake to maintain their physical strength. Therefore,
their diet includes a variety of processed pickled vegetables, which are used
as ingredients to cook other dishes, creating specialty dishes that are oily
and salty.
Common types of Hakka pickled vegetables include:
dried radish, shredded radish, salty vegetables, salted fermented mustard
leaves, dried marinated mustard leaves, dried bamboo shoots, dried squash,
dried string beans, and so on. Among them, the most commonly used pickles are
mustard greens. Not only can they be stir-fried, they can also be cooked in
soup, and the pickled vegetables, salted fermented mustard leaves, dried marinated
mustard greens, etc. are all pickled using mustard.
When pickling mustard, the Hakka will pick
fresh mustard greens, sun-dry them, put them on the ground and step on them
with their feet. They also sprinkle salt on top and hand rub the vegetables,
then put salt on each layer and place it in a pickling jar. The pickling time
is 7 days, during which time the mustard fiber absorbs the salt and naturally
ferments. After pickling, the mustard greens can be made into a delicious Hakka
sour vegetable, and the sour vegetable can be processed into salted fermented mustard
greens or dried marinated mustard greens.
Fresh Bamboo Shoots and Salted Fermented Mustard Greens Bu
Dai Chicken
Ingredients:
1 free-range chicken (about 1,812 grams), 200 grams of bamboo shoots, 150 grams of salted fermented mustard greens, a little ginger, a little salt
Cooking method:
1. Wash the chicken and remove the big bone from the neck and shape the chicken like a cloth bag.
2. Wash the bamboo shoots, salted fermented mustard greens, and ginger. Slice the ginger and put all the ingredients into the chicken’s belly, and use the chicken neck to seal the opening to make a roundish chicken
3. Put the chicken into a porcelain pot, add hot water until it covers 80% of the chicken, season with salt, and let it simmer for two hours.