Cai pu

Cai pu (radis salé séché)

What it is

Chaoshan has salted and sun-dried daikon for centuries, and the oldest jars, lao cai pu, are kept for decades until the strips are black and treated less as food than as a household remedy for a sour stomach. Salt and sun concentrate the sugars, which is why it fries sweet rather than merely salty.

In the kitchen

Rinse, squeeze and chop, then fry it in oil until the edges crisp before the eggs or the radish batter go in - the aroma comes out of the pan, never out of the packet.

Goes with

Egg Rice Garlic White pepper Pork White sugar Spring onion Daikon

Same species

Bettarazuke Black radish Daikon Dongchimi Fukujinzuke Iburigakko

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