20220220 24-Hour Instant Pot Sauerkraut with CLAS
To learn more about concentrated lactic acid sourdough (CLAS), please see here and here.
Among the cuisines of various regions of China, there are two sauerkraut dishes that I really like, and both are made with seafood. One is called "sauerkraut squid", a popular stir-fry dish in Hong Kong, and the other is called "sauerkraut fish", a famous soup from Sichuan. In both recipes, we use sauerkraut made with mustard green, or in the absence of mustard green, a vegetable called "snow red". We refer to sauerkraut as "Haam Shuen Choi" in Cantonese, or "Suan Cai" in Mandarin. This Choi (veggie) is both salty and sour, as the name denotes. When I was a kid, if I remember correctly, we always bought Haam Shuen Choi from the marketplace, where they were displayed in the open and sold whole.
These days, I can find packaged Haam Shuen Choi in Asian supermarkets in the U.S. While they may look similar to the Haam Shuen Choi from my childhood, they taste terrible, probably because they are preserved with chemicals. So, I've stopped buying them and made my own with CLAS in the Instant Pot. To make pickled veggies, I've tried using mustard greens, "snow red", carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, etc. The IP-CLAS combo works perfectly for them all. In just 24 hours, I can have crunchy, sour veggies ready to go. In the past, we always had to soak the Haam Shuen Choi first and add a fair amount of sugar to balance out the flavor during the cooking process. Otherwise, it would be too sour and salty. There is no such problem with IP-made Haam Suen Choi; I can use them as-is.
It's super easy. All you need to do is put the veggies in the Instant Pot, cover them with water (Measure how much water is used. I usually fill it close to the rim, then put a porcelain plate on top, and loosely cover with the IP lid to weigh it down so that the veggies are fully submerged.), and season the water to your liking (I usually use 2.5% sugar and 2.5-3% salt of the water used, and plus whatever spices I feel like adding at the moment). Then add some CLAS (3% (liquid + whole rye flour) ) and some fresh whole rye flour (3%). Then select the "yogurt" function (42C), wait 24 hours, and you're done. By that time, the pH is ~3.5. How easy is that! I strain the liquid and drink it daily as my "probiotic drink". I can use the filtered sediment as a second starter for the next batch, but of course, this step is not necessary.
P.S. On second thought, I'll probably backslop the sediment, so I don't have to use my CLAS every time. I'll use CLAS initially and hope it will self-propagate in each batch as new food (fresh whole rye flour, sugar, etc.) is added. I'm hoping this is doable and not just wishful thinking.
I 
my Instant Pot. It is a handy tool to have in my kitchen. I use it to make my beloved CLAS, and I also use it to simplify the process of making marmalade.
24-hr "snow red" Suen Choi
36-hr "snow red" Suen Choi
Sauerkraut Squid
Sauerkraut Fish
My simplified version of sauerkraut fish using fish filet 
I can slice the filet thinly when it's still slightly frozen.
Comments
Interesting! Takes my thought of getting it down to 2-3 weeks and blows it out of the water!
Have you ever made the suen choi using the "long" fermentation method? Just wondering how the two compare from a flavor profile. I'd have to assume the high temperature CLAS LAB's are different strains than the 65-70 deg F strains that do the fermentation with the long method (although maybe they are the same).
I guess this might be one I have to try and see how it goes. I don't have an instant pot, but I can use my Crock Pot and temperature controller. What temperature is the yogurt function on you Instant Pot?
Hi HH,
I've not made it the "long" way, so I can't answer your question directly. But it tastes the same as I remember from my childhood, just not as salty because I can control how much salt I use. We always had to soak the Haam Shuen Choi first and add a fair amount of sugar to balance out the flavor during the cooking process. Otherwise, it would become too sour and salty. There is no such problem with IP Haam Suen Choi.
I've updated the post to include more details and a link to my setup for making CLAS. I hope they are helpful to you.
Yippee
Thank you Yippee. I may have to do a 3-jar experiment and see how they all compare. Old method, low temp but spiked with sauerkraut juice, and high temp. I don't have a CLAS or a FLAS so have to think through the high temp one. I do have a good way to handle the high temp fermentation though and that's over half the battle!
I am making a batch today with the crockpot.
Perfect fit for the jar I have for 335 gai choy (Chinese mustard) [850 gr water, 25 gr each salt, clas and 21 gr sugar. 2-3 TB whole rye flour?]
I'll be looking forward to it in 24 hr.
I hope you found a way to make it work for you!
Thanks Yippee for the recipe!
I hope it works for you!
Yippee
Mine looks like yours! Hurray!
I plan to use it in ground pork for dumplings. Nice crunch too.
It is salty though- I hope I didn't mis-measure.
I'll rinse it a bit before using.
Thanks for the advice on the citron too. You must have a lot of uses for it.
Remember I have Persian mulberry-it's the tops.
Hi,
I have my cabbage going now! Thanks for the directions- so clear!
I am excited in trying one of the fish dishes- never had any one them before.
On pickling:
Were you able to "backslop" (I think it means reuse?) the brining liquid? What do you suggest?
I had 335ml of water with the sugar,salt and clas in the original. Should I use all of the brine or just part and fill with water again in the %s you gave. I would then use less clas?
Thank you for all the creative ideas- I can't get to all the clas bakes but wheat rye pancakes look like they are next!
Re-using the brine will speed up the new batch to the desired acidity. If the old brine alone is not enough to cover the vegetables, I usually season the additional water based on the percentages above. You don't need to add new CLAS if you don't want to, but I add fresh flour in a stock bag (from 99) to the latest batch to feed the existing microbes.
Yippee