Dried Mustard Cabbage

Dried Mustard Cabbage

　　Dried Mustard Cabbage

　　　Also known as tigan, xiangcai, or shanzhicai, it belongs to the lettuce family. With its bright green color, crisp texture, and taste reminiscent of jellyfish, it is highly valued as a food ingredient. A premium specialty of Chenzhou, its cultivation history dates back to the Qin Dynasty, over 2,200 years ago. It is a purely natural, high-end dehydrated green vegetable. During the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong era, it was presented as a tribute to the imperial court and continued to be offered annually thereafter, hence the name “tribute vegetable” (“Gongcai”).

　　Because of the crisp, audible crunch it makes when eaten, it was vividly dubbed “xiangcai” (sounding vegetable) by Premier [Zhou Enlai] in the 1960s, and is also called “shanzhicai” (mountain jellyfish vegetable).