Zha cai

Zha cai

What it is

The pickle is a swollen stem, not a root: this mustard throws a fist-sized knobbly bulge above ground, which is salted, pressed dry and rubbed with chilli before it ferments in a jar. Commercial production dates to 1898 at Fuling, when a merchant sealed it into containers and shipped it down the Yangtze; the technique itself was already local practice.

In the kitchen

Rinse the chilli paste off and taste before you salt anything else - a knob can carry three per cent salt or more. Slice it paper-thin across the grain; cut thick, it reads as salt rather than as crunch.

Goes with

Pork Soba noodles Toasted sesame oil Spring onion Chili pepper Rice Silken tofu (kinugoshi) Ginger

Same species

Baek-kimchi Broccoli Brussels sprout Cabbage Cauliflower Cavolo nero

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