50 fermented recipes

Tender water spinach meets savory fermented bean curd in this lightning-fast Chinese stir-fry. Ready in 10 minutes with just 5 ingredients.

Thai Makhua Phao Song Kruang: flame-charred eggplant topped with a savory stir-fried pork and prawn mixture seasoned with fish sauce, fermented soybeans, and garlic. Authentic smoky Thai eggplant dish.

Hunan hot pepper and black bean sauce made with crushed red pepper, fermented black beans, garlic, and sherry. A fiery condiment steamed in a jar that keeps indefinitely in the fridge.

Crock-style kosher dill pickles fermented with grape leaves for snap, fresh dill, garlic, and a salt-vinegar brine. Old-school crunch you cannot get from a jarred pickle.

Instant Korean kimchi (gut churi) ready in 15 minutes with no fermentation needed. Crunchy napa cabbage tossed with garlic, red pepper flakes, soy sauce, and vinegar for a fresh, fiery side.

Coconut treacle pani hoppers, sweet Sri Lankan hoppers from a fermented rice-flour and coconut milk batter enriched with coconut treacle, cooked soft and spongy, then folded into a crescent. A treacly teatime treat.

Easy homemade kimchi with cabbage and daikon, salted, spiced, and left to ferment to your taste. A simple, vegan Korean side dish with no fish sauce, as tangy and funky as you care to make it.

Chicken in fermented black bean sauce made entirely in the microwave with garlic, ginger, sherry, sesame oil, and chili paste. A Chinese takeout favorite ready in 30 minutes.

Chinese-style whole steamed fish topped with fermented black beans, fresh red chilis, ginger, garlic, and scallions. A Cantonese-inspired dinner that steams in 20 minutes and delivers clean, pungent, savory flavor.

Traditional Chinese New Year noodles with glass noodles, dried mushrooms, lily buds, and fermented bean curd sauce. Long noodles symbolize longevity and good fortune.

Old-world fermented garlic pickles with cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, and celery in a salt brine with mustard seed, peppercorns, and bay. Crunchy lacto-fermented crock pickles in 10 days.

Traditional Russian brined cucumbers (solionye ogurtsy) naturally fermented with fresh dill, horseradish, garlic, tarragon, and hot pepper. Crunchy, tangy, and deeply savory.

Traditional Tahitian ma'oa and pahua tairo combines fresh snails or clams with taioro (fermented coconut-shrimp sauce), onions, and garlic. An authentic South Pacific delicacy.

Vietnamese Buddhist peanut dipping sauce made with tuong (fermented soybean paste), roasted peanuts, and sugar. A 10-minute vegan condiment for spring rolls and fresh vegetables.

Old-world pickled cherry tomatoes with dill seed, garlic, and peppercorns, packed with grape leaves for crisp texture. Russian-Ukrainian fermentation tradition in canning jars.

Shucked oysters topped with fermented black beans and a savory sauce of soy, sesame oil, vinegar, and chicken broth, steamed for just 2 to 3 minutes. An elegant Chinese appetizer that's quick and impressive.