Remove the outer skin of each whole garlic, trim the roots, and cut off the stems. Wash them under cold running water, brushing the roots with a kitchen brush. Rinse and drain. Wipe off the excess water with a kitchen towel and add them to a 12 cup earthenware jar or a glass jar. Combine the soy sauce, water, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a large pot. Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Then cover and heat over high heat until it reaches a rolling boil. Uncover and let it sit until thoroughly cooled down. Add the brine to the jar to the garlic in the jar. Reserve the leftover brine in a jar and refrigerate it. Add the pickling weights to the top of the garlic so that they are totally submerged in the brine. Put the lid on and let it sit in a cool place in the house for 1 week.

Take out the pickling weights and put the garlics into a large strainer basket over a large heavy pot. Put the garlics back into the jar and add the brine along with the refrigerated extra brine to the pot. Heat it until rolling boil, for about 12 to 13 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool it down thoroughly, then add the brine back over the garlic in the jar. Add the pickling weights to the top of the garlic. Close the lid and let it sit for 2 weeks.

Open the lid and repeat the process 1 more time: draining the garlic, boiling the brine, letting it cool down, and adding it back over the garlic. When you put the garlic into the jar at this point, the roots should be facing down so the pickling brine can easily fill them. Let the garlic sit and ferment for at least 7 months and 1 week more, for a grand total of 8 months since you started. Then your garlic pickles are ready!

Take one garlic and slice it a few times crosswise. Put the slices on a plate and serve with rice, soup, and other side dishes.