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Meigan cai
Meigan cai
	A bundle of meigan cai
Meigan cai
Traditional Chinese	梅乾菜
Simplified Chinese	梅干菜
Literal meaning	plum dried vegetable
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	méigāncài
Wade–Giles	mei2-kan1 ts'ai4
Meicai
Chinese	梅菜
Literal meaning	plum vegetable
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	méicài
Wade–Giles	mei2 ts'ai4
Hakka
Romanization	mòi chhoi
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping	mui4 coi3
Second alternative Chinese name
Chinese	霉菜
Literal meaning	moldy vegetable
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	méicài

Meigan cai, also called mei cai, is a type of dry pickled Chinese mustard of the Hakka people from Huizhou, Guangdong province, China. Meigan cai is also used in the cuisine of Shaoxing (绍兴), Zhejiang province, China.^[1]

The pickle consists of a whole head of various varieties of Chinese mustards and cabbages (芥菜 (leaf mustard), 油菜 (rape), 白菜 (Chinese cabbage) that has undergone an elaborate process consisting of drying, steaming, and salting.^[2] The vegetables are harvested, trimmed before the Qingming Festival, and sun-dried until limp. It is then salted or brined, kneaded until the juices are exuded, and left to ferment in large clay urns for 15 to 20 days. The vegetable is then repeatedly steamed and dried until reddish brown in colour and highly fragrant.^[1]

Uses

Culinary

This pickled vegetable is used to flavor stews, in particular, meigan cai cooked with pork (梅菜扣肉), a classic dish from Hakka cuisine.^[3] In this dish, slices of pork belly are parboiled and then deep-fried before being steamed with meigan cai.

Pastry

Meigan cai can also be used as a filling for baozi, known as meicaibao (梅菜包), and to make pork belly bao buns (梅菜扣肉包).^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b "梅菜的营养价值与做法-美食天下". www.meishichina.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
^ "梅干菜到底是什么菜？_百度知道". zhidao.baidu.com. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
^ Anusasananan, Linda Lau (2012-10-08). The Hakka Cookbook: Chinese Soul Food from around the World. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-95344-4.
^ "冷凍梅干扣肉包 | [分享商店] 奇美食品 | ihergo愛合購". ihergo愛合購 - 輕鬆料理每一餐 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2025-01-10.