Sour vegetables (suan chai) - 2nd attempt

My 2nd attempt at making suan chai....
See first attempt here

Today is day 4 of my suan chai in the making. Tomorrow it will be ready!

This time, the results looks better.
- the sour smell is stronger
- the vege looks dark greenish (instead of yellowish)
- the water didnt turn mouldy

What did I do right this time?
A couple of things i do differently, thats for sure.

First: I let it bath in the afternoon sun


According to my ah ma, sun bathing it is a good-to-have, not must-have
My uncle commented to say its the water in the vege that will cause mould.

So on a lazy friday afternoon, I decided to wash them and let it dry....

and guess what? today is day 4 and the water didnt turn mouldy!

(see the pic of first attempt)

But this is not a fair experiment lah... there are a couple other things i do differently.

Second: I use my WMF pot instead of the glass casserole.

Maybe using a pot is more air tight? Maybe using a pot doesnt allow light to go in and will 'preserve' it better?

Third: I use more water to soak the vege to start with.

There is enough water to submerge the vege from day 1.

In my first attempt, I use one cup of water. The water barely cover half the vege even if I press it down with a plate.

Its only until day 3 there is enough water released from the vege to submerge the vege entirely.

Maybe by then its too little, too late?

Fourth: I double the amount of salt and sugar

This is because i use more water and have a adjust the salt and sugar accordingly what...

So can someone tell me what's the success factor?!!!!