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Fermentation Atlas

Vegetables from Vietnam

Dưa cải chua (Vietnamese sour mustard greens)dưa cải chua

Dưa cải chua is mustard greens that are washed, wilted in the sun and held under a brine of salt and a little sugar until lactic bacteria turn them sour and yellow. It is made in households and villages and takes a few days in the warmth. Made in 4 steps over 2.1 days – 8.2 days. The longest step, ferment, takes 2–8 days (Phan Y.T.N 2017) and runs at 25–35 °C (Phan Y.T.N 2017). Salt is 3–5 % (Nguyễn Văn Mười 2013). Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus fermentum and Lactobacillus helveticus, the main lactic bacteria in vegetable ferments from central Vietnam and Lactobacillus spp., about 78 % of all bacteria in dưa cải do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2–8 daysMeasured[phan2017][muoi2013]Ferment
Temperature25–35 °CReported[phan2017]Ferment
Salt3–5 %Measured[muoi2013]Submerge in brine
AciditypH 4.5Measured[phan2017]Ferment
Fully documentedVegetables2.1 days – 8.2 daysMore vegetablesMore from Vietnam

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedHousehold and village practice with no fixed amounts. The salt figure is from a 2013 study that tested brines of 3.0–5.0 %.
Mustard greens (cải bẹ) · Roots removed, washed and sun-wilted[phan2017][muoi2013]
Brine of salt and sugar · 4 % salt gave the best product in one study[phan2017][muoi2013]
Garlic, onion, chilli, ginger or young galangal · Optional, by recipe[phan2017]
Starter: spontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.1 days – 8.2 days

Start
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What changes: The washed greens wilt in the sun in a basket

Step 1 of 4
Wash and sun-wilt the greens
Time
3–4 h
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
leaves go limp
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Dưa cải chua is soured in a few days at tropical room temperature, with sugar added to the brine. Its mustard greens are wilted in the sun first and sometimes dipped in hot water, which sets the texture and colour.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Dưa giáBean sprouts soured the same way; more lactic than acetic acid.
  • Cà muốiSalted small eggplants.

Safety

The 2013 study chose 4 % brine and 8 days as the best balance of quality and food safety. No authority limit specific to dưa cải was found.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

  1. [phan2017] Phan Y.T.N., Tang M.T., Tran T.T.M., Nguyen V.H., Nguyen T.H., Tsuruta T. and Nishino N. 2017, Diversity of lactic acid bacteria in vegetable-based and meat-based fermented foods produced in the central region of Vietnam, AIMS Microbiology 3(1), 61–70paper
  2. [muoi2013] Nguyễn Văn Mười, Vương Tố Trinh and Trần Thanh Trúc 2013, Effect of the blanching conditions of raw materials and brine solution on quality of fermented green mustard, Can Tho University Journal of Science 29, 25–31 (abstract)paper