榨菜 (zhà cài, literally 'pressed vegetable'), hot pickled mustard tubers is a staple of Sichuan cuisine.
The best is considered to be from 涪陵 (fú líng), Fuling suburbs of Chongqing municipality which was until 1997 part of Sichuan. Sold in jars but also in these single serving packets it is added to congee, used in stir fries and added to soup. Or just eaten straight from the container with steamed bread or buns.
The mustard is crunchy while remaining tender and has an aroma most people find appealing. Being Sichuanese it is also spicy, but not overly so.
Unsliced zhacai
According to a 2019 article in China Daily, over 60,000 local farmover in Fuling are involved in raising stem mustard.
"In 2017, 1.6 million tons of stem mustard were produced, which yielded over 9 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) in pickle products."
Zhacai is produced in other parts of Sichuan but is thought to be inferior.
Non-Fuling Zhacai
Fuling zhacai (涪陵榨菜 - fú líng zhà cài） is exported to over 50 countries. Look out for its distinctive packaging at Asian markets.
