Pickled mustard tuber

Pickled mustard tuber

　　　Pickled mustard tuber is a specialty of China and an outstanding variety among pickled vegetables. It enjoys international fame alongside European sauerkraut and Japanese pickled vegetables, distinguished by its unique flavor that is fresh, aromatic, crisp, and tender. It is honored as one of the world’s three most famous pickled vegetables. The production of Chinese pickled mustard tuber spans fourteen provinces and municipalities across the country, with Sichuan ranking first in output and quality, making it one of the country's traditional export commodities. It is sold in more than ten countries including Japan, Southeast Asia, and Europe & America.

　　Among Chinese pickled mustard tubers, those from Fuling in Sichuan are especially renowned. Fuling is located at the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Wu River. The area produces a type of mustard tuber with well-developed stems and wart-like protuberances beneath the leaf stalks. During the Qing Dynasty's Guangxu reign, Qiu Shou’an, a native of Fuling, opened a sauce workshop called “Rongshengchang” in Yichang, Hubei. His employee Deng Bingcheng selected mustard tubers with thick flesh and tender texture, let them air-dry until semi-dry, then salted and kneaded them into a pickle. He subsequently used a wooden press to extract the saltwater and acidic juice from the vegetables, added seasonings, and sealed them in jars. This vegetable product processed with a wooden press was named “pickled mustard tuber.” Due to its unique flavor that is crisp, tender, fresh, and aromatic, it became extremely popular with the public. Initially, the Qiu family strictly guarded the secret recipe and reaped substantial profits. Later, the pickling method gradually spread, and by 1935, pickled mustard tuber workshops were found all along the Yangtze River in Sichuan, producing 450,000 jars annually, of which Fuling accounted for 250,000 jars. Thus, “Fuling pickled mustard tuber” gained great renown, which has endured to this day.