"Thirteen Villages" Pickled Vegetables

"Thirteen Villages" Pickled Vegetables

　　"Thirteen Villages" Pickled Vegetables

　　Legend has it that during the Three Kingdoms period, the great general Huang Gai of the Eastern Wu once stationed his troops in Xiajun County (now the area along the Yangtze River in Linxiang City, Hunan Province). This place featured vast lakes and numerous polders, making it convenient for military encampment and operations. Huang Gai ordered naval drills to be conducted here.

　　Huang Gai’s military camp was organized by “villages” (in the Three Kingdoms period, a “village” referred to a “garrison settlement”), and was divided into thirteen such villages. During wartime, soldiers marched and fought; during peacetime, they reclaimed land and grew crops, cultivating a large quantity of high-quality vegetables. Using a secret method passed down by local indigenous people, Huang Gai’s troops preserved the vegetables—packing them in earthen jars, sealing them with yellow mud, and burying them by the lakeshore. After forty-nine days, the pickles were unearthed: their color was bright, their aroma rich, and their taste refreshingly delicious and uniquely flavorful. Later, in preparation for the Battle of Red Cliffs, Huang Gai proposed the "Ploy of Self-Inflicted Injury" to Zhou Yu. Wounded from the beating, he lost his appetite, but when his soldiers served him the pickled vegetables, his hunger returned—he could eat a dou (an ancient unit of volume, roughly equivalent to ten liters) of rice a day. This greatly improved his health and strength, enabling him to help defeat Cao Cao’s forces at the Battle of Red Cliffs. One day, Zhuge Liang of Shu, accompanied by Lu Su, came to visit and comfort General Huang Gai. Huang Gai served them pickled vegetables from the thirteen villages under his command. After tasting them, Zhuge Liang praised, “Having long eaten dragon liver, one loses its taste—only the pickles of Thirteen Villages make my mouth water.” To reward Huang Gai for his outstanding military achievements, Sun Quan granted him Xiajun County as a fief and named the surrounding lake “Huang Gai Lake.” Since then, "Thirteen Villages" pickled vegetables have become an imperial tribute.

　　"Thirteen Villages" pickled vegetables come in many varieties, including Eight-Flavor Fermented Black Beans, Country-Style Broad Bean Paste, Red-Oil Pickled Mustard Strips, Finely Chopped Chili Peppers, Spicy Fermented Tofu, Five-Spice Pickled Tofu, and Spicy Pickled Radish Strips. All are made from pollution-free, high-quality vegetables from the Jiangnan region using traditional craftsmanship. The products are excellent in color, aroma, and taste, highly nutritious, and make for premium, natural green foods suitable for home use, travel, or as thoughtful gifts for family and friends.