Jiu cai hua jiang

Step 1: Sterilise the jar and lid: wash in hot soapy water, rinse, then set the jar upside down in a 250°F oven for 10 minutes (or boil jar and lid for 10 minutes). Let it cool and dry completely; jar, lid and every spoon you use must be bone dry.

Step 2: Rinse the 1 ⅛ lb garlic chive flower heads, then spread them on a cloth in an airy place for 1–2 hours until there is no water left on them; wet flowers dilute the salt.

Step 3: Peel and core the 1 Asian pear; peel the 1 oz fresh ginger. Cut both into small pieces.

Step 4: Grind the flowers, pear and ginger with the 2 ⅛ oz salt in a food processor (or pound in a stone mortar) to a coarse, wet purée, scraping down twice, about 3 minutes.

Step 5: Pack the purée into the sterilised jar, pressing out air pockets with a dry spoon, and leave at least 3 cm of headspace. Close loosely.

Step 6: Leave at cool room temperature (18–75°F) for 3–4 days, stirring once a day with a clean dry spoon. Normal: small bubbles, an olive colour and a clean sour smell; a flat white film (kahm yeast) can be skimmed off. Bad: fuzzy, pink, black or blue mould or a rotten smell — throw it all away.

Step 7: Once it tastes tangy and mellow, close the lid and move it to the fridge. It keeps 3 months; always use a dry spoon. Stir a teaspoon into sesame-paste dip for lamb hot pot.