Chinese Preserved Vegetables

Served as an appetizer, palate freshener, or a side dish, pào cài is a Sichuan-style pickle made with various vegetables, mostly Chinese cabbage, carrots, mustard stems, long beans, daikon radish, turnips, cucumbers, ginger, and hot ... READ MORE

In China, pickling food is an ancient tradition dating back to the Zhou dynasty era, and today there are more than 130 different kinds of Chinese pickles. Home pickling is so important that there are even special porcelain urns used only for the p... READ MORE

Even though sauerkraut is a German word meaning sour cabbage, Chinese sauerkraut or suan cai, sometimes also called xiān cài, is probably the very first version of sauerkraut, as it is known that the laborers who built the Great Wall of Chi... READ MORE

One of the most prized ingredients in the common red-braised dishes in central and southern China, mei gan cai is a type of dried pickle made with either Chinese cabbage or mustard greens that have undergone quite an elaborate production process t... READ MORE

Zha cai is pickled stem of mustard cabbage from Sichuan. The stems are traditionally rubbed with salt and pressed in order to release excessive moisture. Later on, they get rubbed with spicy, red chili paste and are left to ferment in lar... READ MORE

Yacai is a traditional ingredient originating from Yibin in Sichuan. This pickled vegetable is made from the upper stems of mustard plant. The mustard greens are harvested in the 9th lunar month. The leaves are discarded, the stems are sliced into... READ MORE

Son labu is a traditional pickled side dish originating from Tibet. It’s usually made with a combination of mooli (daikon), dried hot peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, garlic, vinegar, and salt. The daikon is chopped and mixed with the rest of t... READ MORE