Pickled Greens — Pickled Greens — crisp, refreshing, and a beloved Yunnan side dish with rice【Diān xī xiǎo gē】

On deep winter mornings, the leaves are covered with frosty dew. They are cut before the first ray of sunlight reaches them, when the bitter greens are at their most tender and sweetest. These greens are the best ingredient for making pickled greens. After being sun-dried for two days, kneaded and rinsed in clean water, then mixed with seasonings and packed into an old clay jar to ferment for over a month, the moment the jar is opened, a rich sour aroma bursts out. They are delicious in every way — eaten as they are, stir-fried, added to soups, or cooked in hot pot. Gently sour, satisfyingly spicy, and wonderfully crisp.