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Easy Lacto Fermented Bok Choy

a mason jar of of baby bok choy fermenting on a counter.
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5 from 3 reviews

This easy lacto fermented bok choy recipe is perfect for beginners and seasoned fermentation enthusiasts. Try making fermented bok choy with basil and lemon, or customize the recipe with other spices like garlic and black pepper.

Ingredients

  • 400 grams Baby Bok Choy
  • 1 Teaspoon Dried Basil
  • 2 Slices of Lemon
  • 20 grams Unrefined Sea Salt
  • 400 grams Filtered Water
  • 1/4 Cup Sliced Green Cabbage Leaves (optional)*

Instructions

  1. Wash your fermentation equipment (jar, weight and lid)
  2. Lightly rinse the baby bok choy with cool water.
  3. You can chop the bok choy or you can leave it whole if the whole pieces fit properly in the jar. 
  4. Place your kitchen scale on the counter. Turn it on and set it to weigh in grams.
  5. Place a bowl on your kitchen scale and tare/zero the scale.
  6. Add the bok choy into the bowl on your scale until the scale reads 400 grams.
  7. Remove the bowl of bok choy from the scale and set it aside.
  8. Place a small, empty bowl on your scale and tare/zero the scale.
  9. Weigh out 20 grams of salt and place it aside. 
  10. Place your empty, clean jar you’ll use for fermenting the bok choy on the scale, and tare/zero the scale again making sure your scale is still set to grams.
  11. Add 400 grams of filtered water to your fermentation jar.
  12. Add the bok choy, the salt, and the lemon and basil (or whatever spices you’ve chosen to use) to the jar of water. Place a secure lid on the jar and shake for about 3 minutes until all the salt is dissolved. 
  13. Remove the lid. Place your glass fermentation weight in the jar, making sure to submerge the bok choy, basil, and lemon pieces and the weight fully into the liquid. 
  14. Secure the standard mason jar lid and allow to ferment for at least 21 days. 
  15. It should get bubbly in the first few days, which is when you will burp the jar. You can rinse off the lid and re-adjust the fermentation weight any time you need to.

Notes

  • *bok choy sold bagged in grocery stores can be an exceptionally clean vegetable, with an inadequate microbiome, making it difficult to ferment properly. In order to ensure fermentation proceeds, you can add in 1/4 cup of fresh sliced green cabbage leaves. This recipe works best with bok choy from the farmers market, or your own garden. 
  • Taring/zeroing the scale with a container on it subtracts the weight of the container, allowing you to weigh only what is added to the container. After taring/zeroing the scale, the scale should read 0.0 with the container on it.
  • This recipe works best with a 32 ounce (quart) mason jar

Find it online: https://cultured.guru/blog/easy-lacto-fermented-bok-choy