Cha Cha is the kind of recipe that reminds you there was plenty of cooking happening long before anybody pulled out a measuring cup.
Southern Cha Cha (Chow Chow Relish)
Cha Cha is the kind of recipe that reminds you there was plenty of cooking happening long before anybody pulled out a measuring cup. This Southern chow chow recipe, known in our family as Cha Cha, turns humble garden vegetables into something tangy, bright, and worth keeping.
Depending on where you are, you may hear it called Cha Cha, Cha Cha pickle, chow chow, or chow chow relish. The recipes vary just as much as the names.
Some Cha Cha is sweet. Some has a little kick. Some has mustard seeds. One family’s jar might be heavy on green tomatoes, while another might have more cabbage and peppers.
That’s part of the beauty of it.
A Southern relish made from the garden
Across Southern kitchens, preserving vegetables helped families make the harvest last. Cabbage, green tomatoes, onions, and peppers could all find their way into jars rather than going to waste.
This tradition was especially important in Black Southern foodways. Growing, preserving, and sharing food allowed families to stretch what the land provided and carry that knowledge from one season to the next.
My homemade Cha Cha lives in that tradition.
This version combines fresh vegetables with vinegar, spices, and a touch of sweetness. The result is a Southern chow chow relish with plenty of texture and enough acidity to wake up whatever is sitting beside it.
How to serve Cha Cha
A jar of Cha Cha can do a lot of work at the table. Spoon it over butter beans, black-eyed peas, greens, or other slow-cooked vegetables. Serve it with fried fish, roasted meat, or hot dogs. You can even pile it onto a grilled cheese sandwich, which happens to be one of my favorite ways to eat it.
Most of all, don’t be afraid to make this Southern chow chow recipe your own.
Cha Cha has never needed one definitive recipe. It has traveled through gardens, kitchens, regions, and generations. Along the way, people used what they had and made something good from it.
That’s the kind of recipe worth keeping.
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Southern Chow Chow Recipe (Cha Cha Relish)
Ingredients
Quarter wedge of green cabbage diced
2 green tomatoes or 6 tomatillos, chopped
1/4 cup each green, red, and yellow bell pepper, diced
Half red onion, diced
Half jalapeno seeded and diced (add more or less depending on heat level you want optional if you don’t want the heat)
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional if you don’t want the heat)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar plus more to taste if you want your relish a little sweeter
Instructions
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Toss cabbage, green tomatoes, onion, bell peppers, and salt in a large bowl until all of the vegetables are coated in salt (this will help them release some water). Cover and chill at least 8 hours and up to 12 hours. Drain vegetables.
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Toast mustard seeds in a large pot over medium-high heat, shaking pan, until fragrant and slightly darkened in color, about 2 minutes. Add both vinegars, sugar, mustard, and turmeric. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes.
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Add garlic and drained vegetables to pickling liquid and mix well. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil; cook 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until flavors have melded and liquid is slightly reduced, about 15 minutes. The cabbage and green tomatoes should still have a bit of a crunch. Let cool (this will take about 1 hour).
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Using a slotted spoon, divide chowchow among sterilized glass jars of choice and spoon pickling liquid over (chowchow should be submerged and there should be about ½” space at the top of each jar. Cover and chill.
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