Tongguan Pickled Vegetables and Pickled Bamboo Shoots

Tongguan Pickled Vegetables and Pickled Bamboo Shoots

　　Tongguan Pickled Vegetables and Pickled Bamboo Shoots

　　A Specialty of Tongguan County: Tongguan Pickled Vegetables and Pickled Bamboo Shoots

　　"Tongguan Pickled Bamboo Shoots" is a well-known traditional delicacy from Weinan City, produced by the Tongguan County Pickled Vegetable Food Factory. It is famous for its carefully selected ingredients, fine craftsmanship, attractive appearance, glossy reddish-brown color, crisp and tender texture, a perfect balance of salty and sweet flavors, rich bamboo shoot aroma, inviting fermented bean paste fragrance, appetite-enhancing taste, unique flavor, long shelf life, and suitability as a meal accompaniment. It enjoys a widespread reputation and is often praised as having a fragrance that "spreads for miles."

　　Tongguan Pickled Bamboo Shoots are highly nutritious, rich in fat, protein, amino acids, crude fiber, sugar, nitrogen compounds, iron, phosphorus, calcium, and other nutrients. They also help stimulate appetite and strengthen the body.

　　Tongguan Pickled Bamboo Shoots originated during the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty and have a history of over 300 years. Initially, Yao Sancan’s great-grandfather, from Tao’kang Village in Linjin County, Shanxi Province (now within the territory of Linyi County), successfully created the recipe. He ran a vegetable shop and sold oil to make a living in Tongguan County, Shaanxi. To reduce vegetable losses and increase income, he focused on researching methods for preserving vegetables and ensuring supply during off-seasons. He began by experimenting with pickling lettuce in ceramic pots using salt, constantly refining his technique, then later succeeded in curing them with flour paste. The resulting pickled vegetables were delicious, leading to a thriving business. He then opened a specialty pickled vegetable shop called “Wanxinhe Pickle Garden” west of the stone bridge in Tongguan. Due to good management, the business expanded continuously. By the eighth year of the Jiaqing reign (1803) in the Qing Dynasty, the capital had grown to tens of thousands of taels of silver, specializing in pickled bamboo shoots and vegetables. More than ten branch shops such as “Wanshenghe” and “Wanshunhe” were subsequently established. These were located in Tongguan, Huayin, Weinan, Xi’an, Xianyang, and Hanzhong, selling products such as pickled bamboo shoots, eight-treasure pickled vegetables, pickled melons, sweet pickled garlic, flour paste, and soybean paste. Among these, pickled bamboo shoots and eight-treasure pickled vegetables were especially famous. Owing to the premium quality of the products and the increasing number of shops, all were branded with the character “Wan.” According to the Qing Dynasty text *Nei Wenxian*, “Tongguan in Shaanxi has a long history. The land along the Tong River within and outside the city boasts excellent water and soil, producing pickled bamboo shoots and vegetables that are the best in the province. During the Qing Dynasty, they were listed as tribute items. Wanshengyuan, originating in the Daoguang reign, continuously refined its products over a century, achieving excellence.” During the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty, the product was listed as a tribute to the imperial palace and was called “Imperial Court Bamboo Shoots.” In 1915, it won a gold medal at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. After the founding of New China, in 1956, Wan Sheng Yuan Pickle Garden underwent a public-private partnership and established the Tongguan County Pickled Vegetable Food Factory as a small state-owned enterprise. Production scale expanded, and product quality further improved. In 1980, it was named the top-quality product in Shaanxi Province; in 1982, it again received the title of Shaanxi Provincial Quality Product; in 1983, it was recognized as a high-quality famous special product by the Ministry of Commerce; and in 1992, with approval from relevant national departments, Tongguan Pickled Bamboo Shoots and pickled vegetables were exhibited in Indonesia and featured in publications such as *China’s Special Local Products* and *The Dictionary of China’s Special Local Products*.

　　The lasting fame of Tongguan Pickled Bamboo Shoots is mainly due to their use of locally sourced, premium-quality lettuce, which is carefully processed. Tongguan lies east of the Qinba Plateau, bordered by the Yellow River to the north and the Qinling Mountains to the south, serving as the gateway to the 800-li (approximately 400 km) fertile plain. The area enjoys a mild climate, abundant water resources, and fertile land. Lettuce here has a long growth cycle, planted in October of the previous year and harvested in June of the following year, maturing over a period of eight months. The resulting lettuce is straight, firm, large, with thin skin, thick and tender flesh, crisp and delicious, uniformly thick from top to bottom, with yellowing leaves, white outer skin, and hardened inner skin — all qualities of premium lettuce, known as “Iron-Stem Green Lettuce,” making it ideal for making pickled bamboo shoots. Shanxi Lu Salt is used as an auxiliary ingredient. Though not ideal for direct consumption due to its high nitrate content, it is perfect for pickling vegetables.

　　Processing Method for Tongguan Pickled Bamboo Shoots: The outer skin is trimmed with a small knife, roots and tips are removed, and the shoots are cut into sections about four inches long. These are first soaked in 18°C saltwater and left to ferment for around ten days until they turn a beige color. The pre-pickled bamboo shoot pieces are then placed under pressure in flour paste for several days, removed, washed in clean water to remove the salty and bitter taste, then returned to the flour paste for about half a day before finally being preserved in sweet flour paste for a month to become the final product. Additionally, the use of mountain spring water from the Tongluo Plain south of Tongguan City gives the pickled bamboo shoots a uniquely flavorful taste. Since their creation over 300 years ago, the quality has continually improved, maintaining a strong reputation and enduring popularity.

　　To ensure the continued development of this traditional premium product, in recent years the Tongguan County Pickled Vegetable Food Factory has worked diligently to improve processing techniques, adjust formulas, enhance existing products, develop new ones, and raise overall product quality. Current annual production exceeds 300 tons, with output value surpassing one million yuan. Products are popular across the five northwestern provinces and regions, as well as along the Shanxi and Longhai railway lines, and are also exported to cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.