Salty Cumquat!

After sleeping all day yesterday and today, I finally feel a little bit better. Western medicine really knocks me out good. :D

Other than the Chinese herbal medicine, there's also another ancient street remedy that should be good for coughs and sore throats. We called this 咸柑桔 (salty Cumquat).

Old people see this as gold. :D The above jar of salty Cumquat is my dad's treasure. He made this himself and it has been with us for > 5 years. :D That's why the Cumquat looks like shit :P

To make this, you only need fresh Cumquat (people usually start making this during the Chinese new year because that's when we can get our hands on Cumquat in mass), and large grain sea salts.

To prepare it, you wash the Cumquat clean first. Then pat dry it, so no more water linger on the peel.

Put a thin layer of salt on the bottom of the jar, then drop a layer of Cumquat in. Cover the 1st layer of Cumquat with salt.

Repeat above layering technique until the jar is full. Cover the final layer with more salt. Shake the bottle to condense the content. If you can find more space, either put more salt or Cumquat in.

The key is to stuff the jar full so to push out as much air as possible. Also Cumquat must be covered by salt.

Seal the jar with a plastic bag on the opening and cover it with the lid. Hide it in a dark place. The Cumquat would be so scared that it will shrivel up and wet itself. :D That's why even though we didn't put any water in the jar to begin with, it still turns out juicy.

After a few years, you will see the above finished product.

It looks quite gross, but it taste a little tangy and not too salty.

For a fresher look of the making process, please go to this guy's blog post. :D

trackback: originally i spelled it "Kam Quat". But thanks to Chris, I now know the correct spelling as Cumquat. :D Thanks again! :)