Discover Laba Garlic: A Delicious Tradition to Kick Off Chinese New Year!
Laba or “Evil” garlic! 🧄🧨 We are now in La month, the last month in the Chinese calendar before Chinese New Year. Laba Festival, which took place last week, is a way to celebrate the hard work that went into growing the year’s crops, as well as showing appreciation to ancestors. It is also regarded as a prelude to Chinese New Year, marking a day when preparations for Spring Festival begin.
Traditionally, this is now also the time to make Laba garlic, a spectacularly jade-green pickled delicacy, so it will be ready in time for the New Year feast. The color change is due to a naturally occurring enzyme in garlic reacting to vinegar, which also creates a less pungent taste.
Since Spring Festival often comes with heavy foods, the Laba garlic, with its crispness and slightly sweet and spicy taste, is a welcomed addition to balance out heavy meals. It is rich in potassium, iron, selenium, zinc and folic acid, and is used in Chinese medicine to boost immunity and lower blood pressure.
LABA GARLIC⠀
-Peel dry garlic cloves (do not wash)
-Wash and dry a glass jar, making sure there is no oil residue⠀
-Add garlic to jar, then pour rice vinegar until it covers the garlic⠀
-For every cup of vinegar, add around 2/3 cup of sugar, or if desired, 1/3 cup of honey and 1/3 cup of sugar. Seal jar⠀
-Place in a darkened room away from sunlight
-Wait 10-20 days until bright green and eat! The pickling process preserves the garlic so it can be enjoyed for months!