ChineseCookingDemystified

Early Look: 3 ways to get into Zhacai

Added 2024-09-13 02:33:07 +0000 UTC

Go to practically any Chinese supermarket anywhere in the world, and it’s practically a guarantee that you’ll be able to find Zha Cai – Chinese Pickled Mustard Stems. Even poorly stocked grocers will tend to have a few bags; in China, you can even grab them at convenience stores.

And yet, in the English language world of Chinese cooking, it’s a pickle that seems to get comparatively little recipe play. Dan Dan noodle enthusiasts will drive to the four corners of the earth to track down Yacai (Sichuan Pickled Mustard Greens) but Zhacai seems to get… a lot less love. A source of frustration, even – it’s hard to count the number of times I’ve seen people mistakenly grab a bag instead of the Yacai (or Suancai or Meicai or Datoucai) that our recipe called for, with a panicked message asking whether it could work as a substitute. And it’s completely understandable, as the English translations for this stuff are... sheer chaos.

But whether you bought Zhacai on purpose or by accident, I think the question of “how do people actually use this stuff?” naturally follows. Because I mean… at grocers it’s practically as common as soy sauce, right? Certainly people are doing something with it.

This video, we wanted to show you (1) the simplest way to enjoy the stuff while (2) climbing progressively up the complexity ladder to show three different dishes you can make with it.