Celebrating Mongolian Children’s Day, Part 1 of 2 – Reminiscing the Taste of Mother’s Vegan Salad Jars

Today Ms. Amin-Erdene will share with us one of her mother’s recipes that she enjoyed when she was a child; it’s called Danube salad.

“Now let’s start making the salad. The first step is to sterilize the glass jars.

I have prepared approximately two kilograms of vegetables. You can also adjust the ratio of these vegetables. Let’s start slicing the cabbage. Because we have two kilograms of veggies, we add 20 grams of salt. Next, let’s cut the bell peppers. When cutting the stick of celery, first cut it lengthwise into three thin slices, and then cut these slices into smaller pieces. Let’s cut the carrots.

Green soybeans are rich in protein and add a nice color to our salad. Next, I have 40 grams of granulated vegan sugar here. The ratio of sugar to salt is two to one, the taste is not only sweet, but it also has a sour flavor that comes from the pickled veggies. Then let’s add black peppercorns, dry bay leaves. Now I am pouring 100 grams of oil into the pot. Since vinegar vaporizes when cooking, we will add it after cooking. Now let’s put on the lid and cook at medium heat. After cooking for about three minutes, we will stir it up. So, let’s combine them well. Then place the lid back on the pot and continue to cook for 7 to 10 minutes.

Our delicious salad is now ready. I have prepared 30 grams of apple cider vinegar. Let’s mix it in. You see, there is a lot of juice. Our beautiful and juicy salad is now ready. We did not add any water at all. Now we will pack this salad while it is hot.

Now we are going to sterilize the jars of salad by using the water bath canning method. This method ensures the canned foods can be stored for a longer period of time, up to one year. Since we use the water bath method to get a vacuum seal, water should fully cover the jars. Boil for about 25 minutes.”

“Now I would like to show you how to prepare a meal using our Danube salad. I have prepared to show you how to make The Mongolian traditional stir-fried noodle called ‘Tsuivan,’which is a favorite dish of Mongolians.”

“It also can be a side dish or a main meal. When we were children, our mother made this salad for us, and for breakfast, we used to spread it on top of slices of bread and eat it. This delicious, colorful, and nutritious salad fills you up for a long time when you have it as breakfast.”