It’s wonderful, sometimes, to learn just how wrong you’ve been. Growing up in late 20th century American culture, it was easy for me to see preserved vegetables as the domain of Western cuisines. Pickle jars at Jewish delis and sauerkraut were my images. But the deep flavors of fermented vegetables and the bright burst of pickled ones aren’t the private province of European cultures.

The truth is nearly 180 degrees different. Korean kimchi, Japanese tsukemono and the pickles of China and India are evidence that preserving vegetables has a long history throughout Asia. Fermentation began in China around 7000 B.C. with pickling common since about 1100 B.C., likely imported from India. By comparison, kimchi is a youngster, with fermented vegetables widespread by the early Common Era.

Some fermented foods are pickled, and some pickles are fermented, but although the two often overlap, they differ in how they are conserved. Pickled foods are preserved in salt or brines of acid and/or water mixed with salt or sugar. Fermented foods are preserved by a benign bacterium, most commonly lactobacillus, which eats the food’s natural sugars and carbohydrates, producing lactic acid.

These days, we use the methods primarily because they make the food taste good — not necessarily because we need it preserved. Salt and vinegar make vegetables pop, sharpen flavors and firm up textures. Fermentation gives vegetables a mysterious depth and complexity.

Take Korean kimchi, for example. Its flavor is at once sour and spicy, but the primary attraction is umami, the indescribable fifth flavor: deliciousness that is roughly translated as “savory.” Kimchi has been described as Korean sauerkraut. But it’s more than that. An ancient Korean proverb posits: “If you have kimchi and rice, you have a meal.”

To Maria Hesse, editor of Edible San Diego, kimchi is “very much identity-defining to Koreans, right down to family household.” In Hesse’s family, the sweetness in kimchi came from Asian pears, because they grew on the property.

Kimchi is also a point of national pride: When South Korea’s first astronaut, Soyeon Yi, went into space, kimchi went with her. It was not without effort: Because of concern that the lactic acid bacteria could be a health risk in space, three government agencies spent millions of dollars and several years perfecting a bacteria-free version.

Kimchi is great alone and is served as a side dish at nearly every Korean meal, but it is also excellent to build a meal around. Kimchi Jjigae — a stew of kimchi, its juices, silken tofu, pork belly, pork stock and aromatics — may be its highest and best use. It works best with aged kimchi: Wait at least an extra two weeks for optimal results.

Although kimchi may be the current ambassador for Asian preserved vegetables, the art began in China, and it may be practiced more widely there than anywhere else. Every region has its own pickles, as Euphemia Ng, chef at The Marine Room, explained, defined by each region’s geography and culinary resources. The vegetables differ, the pickling (or drying or fermenting) agents differ, but their importance doesn’t.

Among the most commonly preserved vegetables in China is daikon. One of its best uses is as a topping for congee, or rice porridge. While the original dish — a true dish of poverty — was plain, it can be topped with anything, and the toppings differ regionally. In regions from Tianjin Province to Malaysia, various preserved vegetables may be used, either alone or as part of a stir-fry with pork, long beans or both.

Asian preserved vegetables are fun to make — especially in these COVID-19 times — and require more time than skill or experience. Properly sterilize the jars by boiling them, and there’s really nothing particularly technical about the process. Time does the rest. But the real fun starts with what to make with them.

And the moment those realizations hit me, I realized just how happy I am to see that the art of preserving vegetables went far beyond Europe and may well have hit its heights where it started: in Asia.

In San Diego, we are blessed with a wealth of excellent Asian markets for sourcing the Chinese and Korean ingredients for both the preserved vegetables discussed here, as well as the dishes made with them. If you don’t want to preserve the vegetables, these markets will likely have them pre-made.

99 Ranch Market: 7330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Kearny Mesa and 5950 Balboa Ave., Clairemont. 99 Ranch is San Diego’s most prominent Chinese market. Nearly anything you’ll need for these dishes is available there.

Zion Market: 7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Kearny Mesa. Zion Market is San Diego’s most prominent Korean market, and nearly anything you’ll need for the Korean dishes is available there.

H Mart: 7725 Balboa Ave., Kearny Mesa, and 9440 Mira Mesa Blvd., Mira Mesa. The products and produce available at Zion is generally equally available at H Mart.

Thuan Phat Supermarket: 6935 Linda Vista Road, Linda Vista. While Thuan Phat focuses on Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian foods, they also have Chinese and Korean ingredients.

FOR THE KIMCHI: 12 cups water 1 cup coarse sea salt 1 large Napa cabbage (about 2 pounds)

FOR THE RICE FLOUR PASTE: 2 tablespoons sweet rice flour 1 cup water

FOR THE MARINADE: 1 small onion, roughly chopped 1/2 cup roughly chopped, peeled Asian pear 2-inch knob of ginger, crushed and roughly chopped 6 garlic cloves, minced 4 Korean red chile peppers, trimmed and cut in half 1/4 cup water 1/2 cup salted fermented shrimp 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup rice flour paste 1 cup coarsely ground gochugaru (Korean chili powder) 1 bunch scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced 1 carrot, grated 1/2 cup peeled and grated daikon radish

In a large container, combine 12 cups of cold water and the sea salt. Cut the Napa cabbage head lengthwise, then into quarters. Place in the brine for 6 hours at room temperature, then rinse in cold water.

Make the rice flour paste by continually whisking the sweet rice flour and a cup of water until it reaches a boil in a small saucepan. Continue whisking for 2 minutes until it reaches a pudding-like consistency. Remove from heat, transfer to a container and refrigerate until cool.

Combine the onion, Asian pear, ginger, garlic, chile peppers and 1/4 cup water in a food processor and process until smooth, then transfer to a large bowl. Add the fermented shrimp, sugar, rice flour paste, gochugaru, scallion greens, carrot and daikon and combine well.

Drain the brined cabbage, rinse each piece well in cold water and place them in a large bowl. Toss the cabbage with the marinade, coating well. Transfer to sterilized large glass jars. Fix lids (not too tightly) and place the jars in a cool, dark and dry space and allow to ferment for 1 day before transferring to the refrigerator for at least 3 days.

2 cups roughly chopped kimchi 1/2 cup kimchi juice (from jar) 1/2 pound skinless pork belly sliced as thinly as possible 1 tablespoon doenjang (Korean soybean paste) 1 tablespoon gochujang (Korean chile paste) 2 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean chile powder) 1 tablespoon sugar 1 small onion, thinly sliced 4 button mushrooms (caps and stems each sliced thinly) 4 cups pork stock 7 ounces silken tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 4 eggs (optional) 1 scallion, green parts only, thinly sliced for garnish 1 sheet nori, quartered and sliced in julienne 16 enoki mushrooms (optional) Steamed white rice, for serving

In large saucepan over high heat, combine the kimchi, juice from the jar, pork belly, doenjang, gochujang, gochugaru, sugar and onion. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the contents are dark red and pungent, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until they just begin to lose their texture, about 2 minutes. Add the stock and tofu and bring to boil. Lower the heat and simmer 15 minutes.

Ladle the stew into bowls. Crack a fresh egg over each and garnish with the scallions, nori and enoki mushrooms. Serve along with side bowls of steamed white rice.

FOR THE PRESERVED RADISHES: 2 daikon radishes (about 3 pounds), scrubbed but not peeled 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil 2 teaspoons light soy sauce

TO SEASON THE PRESERVED RADISHES (optional): 1/8 teaspoon dried chile flakes 1 tablespoon pickled chile paste (duojiao) or chile garlic sauce

Trim the top and bottom of each radish and trim away any blemishes or dark spots. Cut the radishes into 1/3-inch-by-2-inch pieces. Toss the radish pieces with salt in a large stainless steel or glass container. Set aside for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees or its lowest setting and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (Alternately, you can use a countertop food dehydrator set at 140 degrees; follow the machine instructions.) Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the radish pieces, and spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and in the oven until the radish pieces have reduced in size by half, about 2 to 3 hours, depending on the exact temperature. They should feel soft and dry to the touch, and not release any kind of liquid when squeezed. Soak the radishes for half an hour in cold water to remove excess salt and then squeeze out as much water as you can.

In a clean mixing bowl, combine the daikon pieces with 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil, 2 teaspoons light soy sauce, 1 heaping tablespoon of pickled chile paste (if using), and a small pinch of dried chile flakes (if using). Mix well, cover, and allow to sit in the refrigerator overnight.

Store the preserved daikon in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

FOR THE CONGEE: 1 cup jasmine rice 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil 10 cups chicken stock (or water)

FOR THE TOPPING: 1/2 pound ground pork 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper 1/4 cup green beans (or, preferably, long beans), washed and sliced in 1/2-inch segments 2 tablespoons grapeseed (or other neutral) oil 1-inch knob ginger cut in 3 slices 3 green onions, finely chopped 3 Fresno chiles (or red jalapeños), finely chopped 1/4 cup Preserved Daikon Radishes 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 2 tablespoons light soy sauce 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce 1 tablespoon Chongqing black vinegar 1 teaspoon brown sugar 2 teaspoons sesame oil 1 tablespoon cornstarch (or potato or tapioca starch)

Wash the rice in and then soak with clean water for 30 minutes. Mix with the sesame oil. Set aside for 15 minutes. (Meanwhile, marinate the ground pork in the salt, sesame oil and white pepper. Soak the radishes in water for 15 minutes.) Bring the stock or water to a boil in a pot over high heat and then add the soaked rice. Bring the stock or water back to a boil, and then decrease the temperature to low and continue cooking for 30 minutes.

While the congee is cooking, begin preparing the topping by bringing a medium pot of water to a boil. Blanch the green beans until they just begin to lose their raw flavor, about 2 minutes. Immediately plunge the beans into an ice bath to stop the cooking. Heat the grapeseed oil in a wok over medium heat and add the ginger, green onions and chiles until the whites of the scallions begin to turn translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add the radishes and cook for another minute.

Raise the heat to high and add the ground pork, using a spatula to separate the bits of pork. Mix together the two soy sauces, vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil and cornstarch. Add the mixture and the blanched green beans to the wok, stirring to combine.

Ladle congee into bowls, and top with the radish, pork and green bean stir fry.

Gardiner is a freelance food writer whose first cookbook, “Modern Kosher: Global Flavors, New Traditions,” is due out this year. He lives in La Mesa.

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