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 that takes several weeks.
Once they are harvested, the vegetables are sun-dried, salted, fermented, steamed, and finally dried again. However, preserved like that, mei gan cai can be kept for years without deterioration. Given the various stages of drying, brining, and fermenting, this Chinese dried pickle tastes uniquely complex, while its flavor imparts a pronounced savory-herbaceous note to the sweet soy sauce-braised dishes.