Chinese-Style Preserved Lemons

Have you ever had preserved lemons? They’re mouth-puckerers for sure. Salty and sour, but strangely yummy.

I grew up eating these. You could buy the really dried versions in Crack Seed shops, or from a huge jar in a small neighborhood store. But the best ones came from a neighbor’s roof.

Why the roof? Because that’s where they are placed to age in large mayonnaise jars.

Here’s the recipe, such as it is:

You’ll need a large glass jar; a gallon-sized jar works best. Buy a big bag of lemons and some Hawaiian salt. If you can’t find Hawaiian salt, kosher salt will do. You want the big grained salt, not the Morton’s kind. That’s all you need.

Line the bottom of the jar with salt, about a half-inch will do. Then remove the stems, wash and pack the lemons in the jar; the more, the merrier. Then, pour in lots of salt, at least a cup, maybe more. Screw the jar cover back on. Shake the jar to allow the salt to distribute.

Remove the cover, lay a couple of layers of waxed paper over the top, and replace the cover tightly. Personally, I’ve used cereal-bag plastic as a seal and that works great.

Put the jar on your roof where it can get some sun, and forget about it. Although, you should shake the jar every month or so to bathe the desiccating lemons with the lemon juice that’s exuding, and to distribute the salty liquid. You’ll see the lemons shrinking, a sign that you’re doing good.

Eventually, when they look like the picture above (I forgot mine for about eight months), open the jar and start munching. Be aware, this is major saliva-drool-producing time so have napkins or tissue handy for a quick wipe-wipe of your mouth.