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Vegetables from Fuzhou and Minqing County, Fujian, China

Zaocai (Fuzhou red-lees mustard)糟菜

Mustard greens are sun-dried, salted and then rubbed with hongzao, the red wine lees, and packed into a container to cure. The finished greens keep all year and are cooked as a seasoning.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Zaocai itself.

Short entryVegetables

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedHousehold tradition with no amounts in the sources read.
Mustard greens, sun-dried[mqxz][zhwiki]
Salt[mqxz][zhwiki]
Hongzao (red wine lees)Minqing is known for good red lees[mqxz][zhwiki]
Start
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What changes: Mustard greens wilt and shrink in the sun

Step 1 of 3
Sun-dry the mustard greens
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Mustard greens are sun-dried, salted and then rubbed with hongzao, the red wine lees, and packed into a container to cure. The finished greens keep all year and are cooked as a seasoning.

What makes this one different

Zaocai is rubbed with red wine lees (hongzao) instead of being packed in brine.

Related ferments

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

  1. [zhwiki] Chinese Wikipedia, 糟菜, read 2026-10wiki
  2. [mqxz] 闽清县志 (Minqing County Gazetteer), diet and customs section on 糟菜, Fuzhou local gazetteer site, read via the Internet Archive snapshot of 4 March 2016archive