Pak Dong is a thai pickled cabbage loaded with beneficial bacteria also known as probiotics. This ferment is packed with carrots, garlic, thai peppers, black sesame seeds, mustard seeds and of course cabbage!
After fermented, these veggies turn out sweet and spicy with a little bit of tang, it’s perfect!
This recipe is so easy and so good for you that I can’t help but to make it over and over again, a gallon at a time, lasting about 1-2 months and I still share with all my friends.
I mainly use pak dong on rice, salads, tuna fish sandwiches and just plain by itself. Sticking with our Spring Detox theme, I challenge you to experiment making a probiotic rich ferment!
I first found pak dong about a year ago when I went to the farmers market with my family in Saratoga Springs, NY. A local company called Pucker’s Gourmet had opened my eyes to a new world of pickled cabbage, which I wasn’t particularly fond of at the time.
I was interested in recreating this delicious pak dong recipe in larger batches mainly because they give you the tiniest jars for $10 and every week I found myself buying 1 sometimes 2, I knew I needed to make a huge batch for the whole family. It was a challenge figuring out the perfect proportions and fermenting times but I think I have found the perfect method to the most delicious pak dong.
I will say that I can’t beat Pucker’s exquisite Pak Dong, they use authentic Kentucky oak whiskey barrels to cure their pak dong. If you are ever in upstate New York I highly recommend trying it! 
In the process of fermentation, lactobacilli will feed off of sugars and metabolize into lactic acid, which gives you that well-known sourness. Lactobacilli is also known as a probiotic or good bacteria.
The salt in this recipe will keep the veggies crunchy and will also keep the “enemies” away while lactic acid multiplies and creates a much too acidic environment for the “enemies” to survive. With that said the longer you let your pak dong ferment, the more lactic acid, the more sour the batch will be.
The more salt you add, the crunchier your batch will stay; but too much salt, and the lactobacilli won’t be able to survive.
Pak Dong | Thai Pickled Cabbage
INGREDIENTS
- 1 medium head cabbage
- 2 tbsp salt
- 2 large carrots
- 4-6 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup mustard seeds
- 1/4 cup thai peppers
- 1/4 cup black sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup unrefined sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
Directions
- Peel off an outside cabbage leaf to use for pressing the veggies down later.
- Quarter the cabbage, slice them into thin ribbons and then slice in half again.
- Shred the carrots with the grating tool on a food processor or with a handheld grater.
- Dice the garlic and thai peppers.
- Put the cabbage and salt in a large bowl and start to crunch the cabbage with your hands. The cabbage will start releasing it's juices and will get a bit softer. I like to top off the jar with extra water if needed.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
- Tightly pack the veggies into a half gallon mason jar.
- Add the piece of cabbage leaf you saved from earlier, push down everything below the juices.
- Top off with extra water if needed.
- Put a lid on top, you may need to "burp" it from time to time.
- Leave your jars in a slightly warm area, around 65-75 degrees, let nature do it's thing.
- Check up on it, you should see air bubbles coming to the surface. That's a good thing! You should not see mold, green, white, blue, brown or really any color that isn't normal. If it looks or smells off toss it and try again.
- You can taste it after the 3rd day to see at what stage of fermentation your tastebuds prefer.
- The yeasty flavor will subside only after being kept in the refrigerator.
- After you hit the right amount of sourness desired, put your jars in the refrigerator. Normally I wait about 3 days but you can eat it at anytime. It's fun tasting the vast differences from start to finish to refrigerator.
NOTES
Fermentation Resources
Although fermentation is simple, once you get the hang of it, there is a lot to learn in the science world of fermentation; way more than I could possibly write in this recipe post. The biggest challenge in any ferment is keeping everything below the brine. The sauerkraut survivor guide was a wonderful experiment that tested every fermentation method. Although pak dong is a completely different recipe, the fermenting process is generally the same with a few exceptions. For every single fermentation technique, I would always recommend starting out with a quart sized mason jar and experimenting with different fermentation methods as described in the guide. Another great Resource is one of my favorite books The Art of Fermentation. This book has a lot of great information if you are interested in the world of fermentation.
Ingredients I Recommend
Comments 22
Theirs is the exact recipe I am trying to duplicate, it is amazing. Thanks for this. May I ask, I have a big 7 liter fermenting pot and the instructions that came with it say to ferment for 6 weeks! Do you know why such a big difference as I am used to seeing 3 to 7 days.
Author
They really are amazing! The fermenting pot instructions may be referring to a large batch of sauerkraut. To obtain the most lactobacillus, for people trying to heal their gut, it is recommended to ferment for at least 4 weeks. However for this recipe, instead of counting days, just try it every couple of days to see at what stage tastes best to you.
Let me know how it turns out!! 🙂
A quick question. By thai peppers do you mean those little tiny chili peppers also sometimes known as birds eye chili’s?
Author
Yes I do believe they are the same thing. I have also used other kinds of peppers, Anaheim, Jalapeño, and cayenne. Pretty much anything hot works 😉
Yes, that is what we use in almost everything here in Thailand. Pretty easy to grow, too, in a five gallon size planter.
I’m finally just getting around to making it and I have one more question. Is it cultured, fermented if it has vinegar? Does it still retain the enzymes?
Author
This question was brought up in the wild fermentation group on Facebook and the verdict, for this particular recipe, was yes it still ferments because it is such a little amount and it’s just for flavor but yes too much vinegar will kill the ferment.
It was also brought up that you could add the vinegar after fermentation to taste per serving.
I’ve made it a bunch of times and I’ve never had a problem with spoilage or anything, so I’m assuming the lactobacilli and all their friends are in there multiplying. 😉
Hope it turns out well for ya!!
Happy Fermenting!!
Thank you!! I’m going to try this. I also get my fix from Pucker’s and it kills me to spend that much money on food that, if I’m lucky, lasts me three days. Seriously, I’m addicted to this stuff. I’ll let you know how it comes out. Funny that when I Googled “recipes for pak dong”, your blog was at the top of the list and we both live in Saratoga!
Author
Hey Cathy, I totally understand your addiction!! Pucker’s is making pak dong addicts all over lol, and it ain’t cheap!
I know it’s not perfectly exact, but let me know how you like it anyways 🙂
So…in the end do you end up adding alot of water as there is very little liquid (vinegar) used in this recipe…or did I miss something?? Thanks!
When you salt and crunch the cabbage, it will release some liquid as well. Also when you pack the cabbage into the jar tightly the liquid should cover most of the veggies. However when you are done packing the jar, if the liquid is not covering the veggies, you’ll want to add enough purified water so that everything is submerged. Sometimes I’ll go an extra step and make about a cup of brine with mustard seeds and salt, normally I never need to use more than a 1/2 cup of extra liquid to fully cover. Then there is always the option to leave 1/4 of the jar for brine, the extra juice is great over rice and greens! Hope your pak dong turns out delicious!!
Thank you for this it’s amazing I add more carrots a they are my daughter’s favorite
I’m happy to hear you and your daughter enjoy it, I bet the carrots added a little more sweetness too…yummy!!
The Pucker company is now at my farmers mkt in Delmar, Ny. I purchased a jar for my husband as part of his fathers day gift last week and we both fell in love with it. But, like you, $ 10-$20 a week is not a pricetag that sits well.
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I cant wait to try making a batch on my own.
I’m so glad you got to experience the deliciousness! Let me know how it turns out when you make it!! 🙂 Cheers!
Thank you for this recipe. We frequent the Schenectady market and puckers has has stole our hearts. Can’t wait to try this!!
When I made my first batch, I fell in love with pacdong. It was a little too sweet for my taste. May I just ferment it longer to use up the sugar?
Author
I apologize for the delay in response. Yes you could ferment longer, or use less sugar to begin with. Hope you liked it otherwise.
I’ve not tried the recipe, yet, but wanted to comment that I just visited my local farmers market, here, in Glens Falls NY. I purchased my first jar from Pucker’s Gourmet and cannot wait to try it on pulled pork tomorrow, as the lady suggested. I found it quite interesting that this was the first article I clicked on about this deliciousness and it mentions Pucker’s Gourmet!
Author
What a small world, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Pucker’s is such a special treat, I haven’t found anything else quite like it. ☺️ Now I’m wishing I was back home in Queensbury to get some. Enjoy the deliciousness!
I’m going to try this recipe. I live in upstate New York and know the vendor you are referring too. I was at the farmers market and bought a jar . I love pak dong and the health benefits are numerous. Wish me luck If it works I’ll let you know.
Author
I hope you enjoy!