Pickled mustard greens are a popular dish in Hmong cuisine.^[1] In Laotian it’s called som pak.^[2] The dish is traditionally made by putting fresh mustard greens into a container, typically a large pot, along with rice water, chillies, salt, and other spices if desired.^[2] The pot is then left usually at room temperature or in a sunny spot to ferment. After a few days, the pickled mustard is ready to eat. In modern practice, vinegar is sometimes added to the mixture to speed up the preparation of the dish.^[2][3]

"Pickled mustard greens" is a common dish across East and Southeast Asia, although the English phrase is non-specific. In China there is xuě cài (雪菜), made with a leafy mustard variety called xuě lǐ hóng (雪里蕻), and in Southern China haam choy, made with gai choy mustard leaf.^[4] Japanese pickled mustard greens are called takanazuke (高菜漬け), which is marinated in vinegar, sugar, salt, and an umami soy-based sauce.^[5]

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