Taiwanese-style Sweet-and-Sour Cabbage & Korean-style Chive Salad (台式泡菜, 韓式涼拌韭菜)

By chance and by luck, we found a supplier of Stinky Tofu (臭豆腐) in Southern California, the Green Cube Gourmet Food, Inc, that's cited in this well-written article. When searching for online recipes to cook the stinky tofu, we learned that it's often served with a simple salad in Taiwan, hence the first recipe below. In fact, it's quite a treat to go by itself, as a salad in summer days.  In the meantime, we also learned how to prepare a popular Korean-style salad, Chive Salad (Buchu Muchim), that's often served as a side-dish in Korean restaurants, which might be a good comparative study against its Taiwanese counterpart. BTW, both salads are quick and easy to make.

I. Taiwanese-style Sweet-and-Sour Cabbage (台式泡菜)

Ingredients

• Main Ingredients: Medium-sized Cabbage (use 1/4), Medium-sized Carrot 1
• Seasoning: Salt- 2 tsp, Sugar- 2-4 Tbsp, White Vinegar- 2-4 Tbsp

Methodthe

1. Cut a medium-sized cabbage (~2 lbs) into 4 quarters, cut out the core of the cabbage, and use a quarter (~0.5 lb) for this salad.  Hand-separate 1 quarter of  cabbage by holding the quarter with the palms of both hands, and pressing both ends of the quarter hard (see the first 2-3 minutes of this video for details).  Continue to hand-separate the cabbage into larger bite-sizes.  Place the cabbage pieces into a medium-sized mixing bowl.  Note- Taiwanese Cabbage from Chinese Markets might be significantly larger in size than regular cabbage, and requires more seasoning below.
2. Peel and Julianne-slice a carrot.  Place the carrot slices into the mixing bowl.
3. Add 2 tsp of salt into the mixing bowl.  Stir and mix.  Set aside for 20 minutes.
4. Pour drinkable water (filtered or boiled-then-cooled-down water) into the mixing bowl, until the cabbage pieces are immersed in water.  Slush the water around for 15-20 seconds, let sit for 8-10 minuets, and drain the water from the mixing bowl.  Repeat this step until the cabbage no longer has much taste of salt.
5. Add 2 Tbsp of sugar and 2 Tbsp of white vinegar into the mixing bowl.  Stir and mix thoroughly.  Note- We've been using 4 Tbsp of sugar and 4 Tbsp of white vinegar, w/o the need to adjust (season to taste) at the end. 
6. Chill in the fridge overnight, or ~6 hours. Season to taste with sugar and white vinegar (1 tsp a time).  Here is the outcome from our kitchen.
   

II. Korean-style Chive Salad (Buchu Muchim, 韓式涼拌韭菜)

Ingredients

• Main Ingredients: Chive- 4 cups, Green Bean Sprouts- 2 cups, Large Onion- 1
• Seasoning: Salt- 2 tsp, Garlic- 2-3 cloves (or garlic powder- 1 tsp), Mild Hot Pepper Flakes- 2 tsp, Anchovy Fish Sauce- 1 Tbsp, Sesame Oil- 2 Tbsp, Sugar- 2 tsp, White Vinegar- 2-4 Tbsp

Method

1. Rinse and cut ~4 cups of chive into 1" segments.  Place the chive segments into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
2. Rinse and add ~2 cups of green bean sprouts into the mixing bowl.
3. [Optionally,] rinse, slice, add into the mixing bowl, 1/4 large onion (or 1/2 medium-sized onion). 
4. Add 2 tsp of salt into the mixing bowl.  Stir and mix.  Set aside for 20 minutes.
5. Pour drinkable water (filtered or boiled-then-cooled-down water) into the mixing bowl, until the cabbage pieces are immersed in water.  Slush the water around for 15-20 seconds, and drain the water from the mixing bowl.
6. Add 1 tsp of garlic powder (or 2-3 cloves of minced garlic), 2 tsp of Korean Hot Pepper Flakes (or any Mild Hot Pepper Powder), 2 tsp of sugar, 1 Tbsp of Anchovy Fish Sauce, 2 Tbsp of Sesame Oil. Stir and mix thoroughly. Note- No need to add salt. The fish sauce contains salt. Chive itself has strong flavors.  Need to go easy on the seasoning.
7. Chill in the fridge overnight, or ~6 hours. Season to taste with Hot Pepper Flakes (1/4 tsp a time), Anchovy Fish Sauce (1/2 tsp a time), and sesame oil (1 tsp a time). Here is the outcome from our kitchen.