33. 腊八蒜 (là bā suàn) - Laba Garlic
Laba Garlic
@Tropicalseniormentioned these on her 'My Pickled Garlic Experiment' topic here.
On 7/25/2021 at 12:10 AM, Tropicalsenior said:There were some cloves in the batch that had turned green but I know from prior research that that isn't a problem. In fact, the Chinese make a jade green pickled garlic that is highly prized.
These jade green pickled garlic cloves are traditionally made for the Laba Festival – 腊八节 (là bā jié), held on the eighth day of the 12th month by the traditional Chinese solar-lunar calendar. Hence the Chinese name 腊八蒜 (là bā suàn), 蒜 (suàn) meaning 'garlic'.
The preparation couldn’t be simpler. The garlic cloves are washed and put into jars with white rice vinegar (sugar can also be added according to preference), then left for around three weeks in a warm place. That’s it. The longer it is left, the greener it becomes.
Laba Garlic in Jars
Image Credits
I have used these images from Wiikipedia, which I don't normally do, because I can't find any of the garlic now (wrong time of year) and I have no desire to make any just to take a photograph; not that I mind eating it.
1. Laba Garlic - Image by Dennis Wu6; This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
2. Laba Garlic in Jars - Image by N509FZ; This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.