burong mustasa quiamse

The days are getting sultry though the nights can still be cool. With summer’s bounty soon to be out in full splendour, I can’t wait to learn more about seasonal produce, recipes and other traditions – whether in and out of the kitchen. There are just so many interesting tidbits that are waiting to be re-discovered.

The summer sun is best for recipes that call for sun-drying. It will ensure proper dehydration that will prevent the growth of organisms that spoil food.

Today’s recipe involves leaves, specifically mustard greens or mustasa to us. This is an old recipe that most households utilised but is falling into disuse. Nowadays, burung mustasa may be found in Pampanga marketplaces but that’s also fast becoming a rarity. The salted mustard greens found in supermarkets and groceries are almost always imported, thanks to globalisation.

Burung mustasa or quiamse comes from the Hokkien ‘kiam’ (salted) ‘chai’ (vegetables, but in this instance refers to mustard). It must have been introduced to the country by Chinese settlers and then the process adapted to our conditions.

Quiamse is best eaten chopped with tomatoes as a side dish or salad to fried fish and meat. The Chinese however, have different ways of eating it such as with congee (lelut) and in soups. The fermenting liquid can be used for sigang as it is very sour.

Quiamse / Burung Mustasa

1 kilo fresh mustard greens (mustasa)
3 cups rice water (piunyaban abias)
5 tablespoons salt

burong mustasa quiamse burong mustasa quiamse

Wash mustasa well. Remove wilted leaves and cut off the roots. Arrange leaves in a flat surface and sun-dry till very wilted.

burong mustasa quiamse burong mustasa quiamse

Sprinkle salt on each leaf (individually) then roll and place in a clean earthenware jar (pasu sungsung) or in a large bottle (garafon). Pour on the rice water to submerge the leaves. Cover the mouth of the jar with cheesecloth or cover the garafon with its lid.

Let it stand at room temperature for seven days.

The leftover quiamse should be placed in the refrigerator to stop the fermentation. What I do however, is to take out the leaves from the fermenting liquid, boil the liquid then submerge the leaves and then take them out as soon as they come to a boil. That should arrest fermentation too and kill any undesirable microorganisms.