''Zha cai'' (; ), also romanized as ''Cha tsai'', is a type of pickled

mustard plant The mustard plant is any one of several plant species in the genera ''Brassica'', ''Rhamphospermum'' and ''Sinapis'' in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family). Mustard seed is used as a spice. Grinding and mixing the seeds with water, vin ...

stem originating in

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The name may also be written in English as ''cha tsai'', ''tsa tsai'', ''jar choy'', ''jar choi'', ''ja choi'', ''ja choy'', or ''cha tsoi''. In English, it is commonly known as Sichuan vegetable, Szechwan vegetable, or Chinese pickled vegetable, although all of these terms may also refer to any of a number of other Chinese pickles, including the several other types in the Sichuan province itself.

Production

The pickle is made from the knobbly, fist-sized, swollen green stem of ''

Brassica juncea ''Brassica juncea'', commonly mustard greens, brown mustard, Chinese mustard, Indian mustard, Korean green mustard, leaf mustard, Oriental mustard and vegetable mustard, is a species of mustard plant. Cultivar ''Brassica juncea'' cultivars c ...

'', subspecies ''tsatsai''. The stem is first salted and pressed, and dried before being rubbed with hot red chili paste and allowed to

ferment Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic compound, Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are Catabo ...

in an

earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed Vitrification#Ceramics, nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids ...

jar.

Flavour

The taste is a combination of spicy, sour, and salty. Its unique texture—crunchy, yet tender—can only be vaguely compared to Western

pickled cucumber A pickled cucumber – commonly known as a pickle in the United States, Canada and Australia and a gherkin ( ) in Britain, Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand – is a usually small or miniature cucumber that has been Pickling, pickled in ...

s. Excess salt in the preserved vegetable is leached out by soaking in fresh water. Considered to be rich in

umami Umami ( from ), or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes. It is characteristic of broths and cooked meats. People taste umami through taste receptors that typically respond to glutamates and nucleotides, which are widely present in me ...

, ''zha cai'' varies in spiciness depending on the amount of

chili paste Chili sauce and chili paste are condiments prepared with chili peppers. Chili sauce may be hot, sweet or a combination thereof, and may differ from hot sauce in that many sweet or mild varieties exist, which is typically lacking in hot sauces ...

used in preparation.

Uses

Originating in Sichuan and believed to be one of the world's oldest types of pickles, ''zha cai'' is used in many of the various cuisines of China such as in Sichuan dan dan noodles, in soups with ground pork and '' mifen'', and as a condiment for rice congee. It is generally sliced into thin strips and used in small amounts due to its extreme saltiness, although this saltiness can be tempered somewhat by soaking the strips in water prior to use. A popular Chinese dish featuring ''zha cai'' is "noodles with ''Zha Cai'' and shredded pork" (榨菜肉絲麵; ''zhà cài ròusī miàn''). ''Zha cai'' is also an ingredient of '' ci fan tuan'', a popular dish in

Shanghai cuisine Shanghai cuisine (; Shanghainese: ''zaon⁶ he⁵ tshe¹''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: Help:IPA/Wuu, ɑ̃¹¹ he⁴⁴ tsʰᴇ¹¹, also known as Hu cuisine (; Shanghainese: ''wu⁶ tshe¹''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ...

. In Japan, the pickle is common in Chinese restaurants (though it is usually less spicy, to suit Japanese tastes), and it is transliterated into Japanese as ''zāsai'' (katakana: ザーサイ; kanji: 搾菜). Like other vegetable stems in Chinese cuisines, particularly

celtuce Celtuce () (''Lactuca sativa'' var. ''augustana'',Masatoshi Yamaguchi ''angustata'', or ''asparagina''), also called stem lettuce, celery lettuce, asparagus lettuce, or Chinese lettuce, is a cultivar of lettuce grown primarily for its thick s ...

, zha cai can also be sliced and sautéed.

Manufacturers

Fuling Fuling District ( zh, s=涪陵区 , t=涪陵區 , p=Fúlíng Qū) is a district in central Chongqing, China. As the second largest city in Chongqing, the area is known for '' zha cai'', a hot pickled mustard tuber, as well as serving as the locat ...

, a district in

, is closely associated with ''zha cai''. The largest manufacturer, Fuling Zhacai, manufacturers of the Wujiang (乌江, Wu River) brand, is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and in 2021 celebrated selling 15 billion packets.

References

External links