Chinese · IV The Method
Cantonese Preserved Mustard Greens (Mei Cai) — Drying and Applications
I
Origin
Hakka people — Meixian, Guangdong Province
II
Description
Mei cai (梅菜) — preserved mustard greens — is a Hakka and Cantonese pantry staple: mustard greens are salted, sun-dried, and then fermented slightly to produce a savoury, slightly sweet, deeply umami preserved vegetable. Inky dark in colour. Primary use: mei cai kou rou (steamed pork belly with mei cai) — the osmotic relationship between pork fat and dried vegetable creates extraordinary flavour exchange.
III
The Thread
—Italian bottarga — deeply savoury preserved ingredient
—German sauerkraut — fermented-and-dried cabbage
—Korean sijang kimchi — aged fermented vegetable
IV
Flavour Context
Deep, savoury, slightly sweet; concentrated mustard green earthiness; absorbs pork fat to become unctuous; a remarkably complex preserved vegetable
Pillars V — VII
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