Pickled Mustard - Pak Gard Dong ผักกาดดอง

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Pickled mustard may not be a star in dishes, but it enhances other ingredients with its sour flavor. Without pickled mustard, kanom jeen namya is bland and curry noodles lack the sour punch that cuts through the rich sauce.

You can easily buy pickled mustard at Asian markets, but I like the flavor of my homemade mustard green best. Another reason that I stopped buying pickled mustard is because many contain food coloring. There is no need for the additives, if you make it right.

Follow the easy recipe below.

10 Servings, Prep Time: 15 Minutes, Total Time:

1/2 cup salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups water
1 lb Mustard Greens

Tips and Techniques

The purpose of the sugar is to feed the microbes. Some people use the water that you rinse rice with, instead of sugar. Since you may not have rice rinse water on hand when you're making the pickles, I call for sugar, but you're welcome to use the rice rinse. Afterall, carbohydrates from rice turn into some form of sugar.
In the North and Northeast, pickled mustard is made with cooked sticky rice instead of rice rinse or sugar.

Method

Prepping the Greens

Rinse mustard greens in cold water. Make sure you get the dirt between the leaves out, especially on the stems. Cut them lengthwise or into large chunks and place in a large bowl. Add the salt and mix them well. My mother would add just salt and massage the salt into the mustard greens. Some how I can't bring myself to bruise the beautiful greens. My unconventional method is to add salt and mix them. Then add some water to dissolve the salt so that it can get inside the mustard greens. Leave the mustard greens at room temperature overnight.

Preparing the Container

Any glass jar (or old pickles jar) is great for pickling mustard. Wash the jar in dishwasher (high water temperature) or boil the jar for 10 minutes to sterilize the jar.

Packing and Pickling

After sitting in brine overnight, the mustard greens should be wilted, but still green. Rinse mustard greens in cold running water to remove the salt. Pack them into the jar tightly.

Add a teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Pour enough water to cover the mustard greens. With my jar, it took 2 cups of water to cover the mustard. Close the lid.

You may want to place a small dish or bowl inside the jar, on top of the greens, to push the greens down and keep them submerged. Keep the jar at room temperature. You'll see the color starting to change from green to yellowish green. It took 1 week during the fall with average room temperature at 70 degrees. When I make it in Thailand, it takes 12 hours at room temperature(90 degrees).

When the pickled mustard is ready, it should be yellowish green. Taste a piece to see if it is ready. It should be sour and salty, but more sour than salty. Be careful when you take the pickled mustard out, your utensil must be clean and dry. Any water or other materials that get dropped into the jar can make the whole jar goes bad.

Your pickled mustard’s gone bad?

When you see whitish film floating on top, it’s time to start a new jar. Toss out the bad pickled mustard. Wash and sterilize the jar in boiling water for 10 minutes. Start over again.