1:28 - Zhacai 3:03 - Yacai (Baseline) 3:28 - Ganlancai 4:03 - Xuecai 4:36 - Suancai 5:12 - Meicai 6:03 - Datoucai 6:49 - Dongcai 7:48 - Lahpet

@ChineseCookingDemystified

3 жыл бұрын

Ha! Was wondering if people would want that - ended up going with "Introduction; Taste Test; Conclusion"

@lailymahal7301

3 жыл бұрын

@@ChineseCookingDemystified I really missed that info - I think people with languages that can't distinguish the -cai tones will have even more problems. :-)

@lailymahal7301

3 жыл бұрын

Also - it would be great to have the Chinese writing because I'll need that info when I try to buy it in the store!

@purpleblah2

3 жыл бұрын

7:24 Among Us

@BryanLu0

2 жыл бұрын

@@lailymahal7301 -cai is the same for all of them. It's the word for vegetable

I needed this video!! 🙏🙏 Also I laughed at Burmese pickled tea - I used 50/50 Yacai and brewed Longjing tea leaves to sub for Lahpet before 😅

@callmezoran

3 жыл бұрын

Now there are probably plenty of us that are eagerly looking forward to new videos made by you involving Sichuan cuisine.

@Niklas-bk2rd

3 жыл бұрын

How did the tea leaf salad turn out? I've been craving it ever since my trip to Myanmar, but obviously couldn't source the tea leaves. Are you planning a video on Burmese tea leaf salad?

@Scorpio7500

2 жыл бұрын

That's hilarioussss

"'sup dude." I love the yes or no answers.

@ravenquilts5931

3 жыл бұрын

Missed everything after MS paw of “gimme les chopchopstix!”

@GenXBecks

3 жыл бұрын

I came here for this 🤣

I kept being distracted by a certain dog, and thinking, "Dude. Stop doing the 'feed me that' thing. You will NOT thank her for it. Not a dog item there."

been loving the combination of steph-centric videos and chris-centric videos lately. both are super enjoyable in their own way.

Steph, I appreciate your sacrifice of palate and normal blood pressure to bring us these comparisons. Best wishes for your recovery!

It’s so great to see how confident you both got in producing these videos. Such a rapid leap in quality since you started, the past year has been filled with great writing, editing, research and presentation. A+ five stars number one

Could you please make a video about Sichuan peppers and it's varieties (Honghuajiao etc.) , their usage in Chinese cuisine?

I literally shouted “YESSSS!” When I got a notification with the title of this video because I was so pumped to see it was on this topic. Thank you for demystifying Sichuan pickles!

Cute dog, cute host, cute editor. Quality content as always.

I love you folks so much. I was trying to wrap my head around what the difference was between Zhacai and Yacai and when and how to use them, and just found this video. Perfect. Thanks for all you do!!

I wondered about the substitution until I bought a pack and tried it, and instantly knew no, it's that distinct flavor that was in every dandan noodle I had in restaurants, that I just didn't know came from the vegetable. it's almost like fermented soy beans (dou chi), you wonder about substitution until you had then, then you accept nope, just gotta get them on amazon if you can't find them in store.

@ChineseCookingDemystified

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, we do think that Meicai could be a good substitute for those in heavy Cantonese areas that don't have access to Yacai though :)

Thank you so much for this thorough review. Appreciate the thoughtfulness and attention to the differences.

Oh man you're brave eating tianjin dong cai straight. That is SALTY

@willywonka3050

3 жыл бұрын

My dad got a ceramic tub of the stuff from a Chinese grocery. I was expecting something along the lines of zhacai or suancai...

@overseastom

3 жыл бұрын

Do people normally soak it in water before using it? I think I have a jar of it, but it's so salty I've only used it a couple of times.

@SunnySunshine4U

3 жыл бұрын

If I'm remembering correctly, my mom usually used it for soup! She'd take a little bit out of the jar, chop it up, and drop it in the boiling water (maybe one soup spoon size to like 4 or 5 cups of water). It makes a savory soup base. You can also rinse it a bit before putting it in the pot.

@overseastom

3 жыл бұрын

@@SunnySunshine4U thanks for the tips mate :)

You guys are the best. Thank you for existing.

So thoughtful, generous... Thank you for giving such depth to these preserves ✨👀😌

Brilliant, crazy helpful video, thanks guys, this'll be a reference video for me for years.

I got hooked on Zhacai a while back. Around these parts they're about 30 cents a pouch, and have amusing names such as "Preserved vegetable for students". LaoGanMa also has her face on a brand of them. My favourite one has Yacai mixed with bamboo shoots. Goes really well in instant noodles with a bit of cheap lunchmeat or lap cheong!

Watching 10 times on loop. Must absorb this next level knowledge.

This is probably the most informative Chinese food channel I've ever seen in the whole KZread universe.

I really like these kind of videos looking at some ingredients that most of us are really unsure about.

would love to see move videos on making your own classic Chinese pickles

Oh, this is exactly the video I wanted! I have no trouble sourcing Yacai, but am looking for a Xuecai sub. Having these tasting notes is so helpful. Thanks, Steph & Chris!

Should I be working on my annotated bibliography due in a few hours? Yes. Did I just eat dinner? Yes. Am I watching this video and getting hungry again? Hell yes!

@savagecabbage553

3 жыл бұрын

Chicago style or GTFO

@Linh.19

3 жыл бұрын

same there...

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS! I never know which to buy!

Thanks for this - I have a mustard pickle with no label sitting in some tupperware in the fridge for months, bought it on a whim and was turned off by the level of saltiness when eating it by itself. I think it's the suancai you referenced. Now I'm looking forward to trying the Suan Cai Yu recipe. Loved Steph's eyes lighting up when trying the Lahpet - great moment! Sorry if you've already done this in another video, but the biggest obstacle for me in the Asian grocer is reading labels and a lack of English-speaking staff. it'd be great if you included the Chinese characters that denote the specific food you're pronouncing. Or highlight it on the package. I can always do a screen grab and compare to what's on the shelf. Thanks for doing these videos, so many interesting insights!

This is cool, I would love to taste this for sure. What an informative video!

I finally found the proper yacai packets in Chinatown yesterday! I'm so excited to try them! You guys are the best!

Thank You! I have MANY different types of preserved Chinese "greens" and I like all of the ones that I've tried. Admittedly some much more than others. I don't have a clue as to how to speak/read any Chinese which has left me clueless as to how to figure out what is what when I'm trying to recreate a Chinese dish. I still have a long row to hoe but this video has helped me immensely. Coming to you from tiny town in Indiana USA.

@zhucookkitchen5172

3 жыл бұрын

haha No worry, just cook it, and taste it. There is no English description behind the package?

Thanks for introducing us to laphet! Judging from Steph's reaction, it sounds like it might be worth trying to make it at home especially since online recipes require steeped tea leaves, which I'm throwing away everyday anyways.

@kattkatt744

3 жыл бұрын

Spent leaves are likley to not going to give you a good product. You will have extracted a lot of the aromas and mostly being left with the bitter ones. Also Laphet is made with fresh leaves which are steamed straight after picking and then fermented. Most green teas are pan fried for stopping the oxidation. The pan frying will have an impact on the tast. It is probably better to go buy some if you can find it.

@julesverneinoz

2 жыл бұрын

On another note, if you're throwing away tea leaves do look up composting :D

I've just begun to delve into the world of Chinese pickles. This video is great.

Thank you so much for making this video! The other day I accidentally bought zhacai for my dandanmian and I did think it looked strange since the can I bought didn't look anything like the yacai I'd seen in videos before. I also thought the writing and pronunciation of zhacai and yacai differed because it was perhaps regional or just one of those weird translation things going from Mandarin to English. Now I know better so thanks once again!

Love the content! Such an adorable pup, like mine, they demand petting!

I finally managed to find it in a local Chinese market here in Canada yesterday! I googled it and then showed the cashier a picture. I made my first, authentic, Chinese Cooking Demystified, Dandan Noodles. It was so good!

Amazing video!! Thank you so much!

awesome video, really helpful

I am watching, listening and see your cute dog.

@zhucookkitchen5172

3 жыл бұрын

haha Me too see the cute dog

Love your doggie!

I love sui mi ya cai. Thank you for the interesting information about Sichuan cuisine. A wonderful dog👍🙂 Greetings from Poland.

I am obsessed with Zhacai, or at least I think I am. The local Chinese grocery that was gentrified out of business used to sell packets of something labeled "Tasty Vegetable Go With Food" I could not get enough of it, and now that they're gone I can't find it anywhere. But assuming I am right and it was spicy picked Zhacai, I bought Zhacai seeds and am prepared to make it myself if necessary.

@brokenglassshimmerlikestar3407

3 жыл бұрын

That's very courageous if you're gonna make Zhacai yourself. I suppose you can find a recipe online but most Chinese people don't have raw zhacai and wouldn't know how to ferment it. It's a specialised production. I hope you find the packaged products again.

@e.lycopersicon9720

3 жыл бұрын

@@brokenglassshimmerlikestar3407 I do too. But if I don't, I ordered the seeds for the bulbous mustard greens which I am now about to plant, and I've made kimchi and preserved lemons, so I've fermented two things successfully, so we'll see, come the fall, what I've managed to get myself into.

@violetviolet888

7 ай бұрын

@@e.lycopersicon9720 How did it go?

A favorite substitute of mine is Kalamata olives. I dont think they taste at all identical to yacai, but they hit a good balance of umami and saltiness for sichuan dishes I make at home. It's also a lot more easily available in supermarkets in the west

super. thanks a lot!

I 100% had given up... and just started buying packages of pickled/salted/sour greens ... taking pictures of the Chinese Labels... and started to get a sense of what different combinations meant. And taking my own notes. So when this video appeared - SO HAPPY. Also - ah... here's where I am - this is what you mean. FUN RESEARCH. Yum.

This video was so great!!! Really want to try the lahpet! It's interesting that yacai is hard to find at a lot of places in the west - at my local chinese grocer yacai is generally always available, but zhacai is muuuuch less common! Could be down to differences in canada vs the states

Such a rich video, thank you for all this. I was surprised to actually have or know most of these :) I'm such a weird non-asian... Fermented greens are so interesting to use or just eat. I really like Ganlancai, that was a nice discovery for me, spontaneous stranger came to me and suggested it telling my her son just puts it on his toasts and is just addicted to it... So many delicious preserved things...

I am always happy to learn of a new college meal that I can eat with plain rice. You'd be surprised how much of this stuff you can find in North Carolina of all places.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I have been using the wrong pickled veggies. I am in San Francisco so I know I can get the right stuff... Thank you again!

Dog: Mother... Why are you withholding the yums? Do you not see how I starve?

@zhucookkitchen5172

3 жыл бұрын

hahaha Mummy:::: I will cook for you after this ~~

Could you please make a video showing to make Yacai at home? I mean preparing and pickling process. That would be super interesting. Keep up the good work!

5:10 i know she probably just said a word i didn't recognize but i'd love to think she said "sup, dude" to their dog

@aaronsakulich4889

3 жыл бұрын

She did!

@ChineseCookingDemystified

3 жыл бұрын

Ha that's exactly what Steph said :)

@person9513

3 жыл бұрын

@@ChineseCookingDemystified omg its amazing when people call unusual things dude, i'm kind of a nerd with the yugioh card game and i saw a guy who called the cards dudes

Man I love zhacai, especially with hard boiled eggs. My ghetto "clear-out-the-pantry-snack" is two slices of white toast, 2 hard boiled eggs, and a pouch of zhacai. Empty the zhacai into a boil, drizzle on some black vinegar, sesame oil, and chili oil, then smoosh the eggs between the toast and put the zhacai on top. It's weird but one of my most favorite things.

Fortunately that brand of Yacai is very easy to get hold of in the UK and doesn't cost much.

@uasj2

3 жыл бұрын

Same in Australia. The Yibin SuiMi brand of Yacai (100g packets usually) is very common in Asian supermarkets here. Not sure why they don’t have it in the US.

The fermented tea leaves are my favourite chinese preserves

We need more of these taste tests :) I'm buying stuff at Taobao from time to time and it's good to have some ideas for interesting prepared food or sauces, because picking them blindly is like a roulette. Also idea for next test - chili varieties that are known and used in Chinese cuisine and their typical usage from common Er Jing Tiao or Xiao Mi La to Hainan Yellow Lantern or Yunnan Shabu Shabu (do these even used at all?). /r/HotPeppers might be really interested.

Great video; hard to find information on these ingredients. One other point I can’t find info on this ingredient is how to store it/how long it lasts when opened?

👍做得很好👍

Would love to see a series of how each of these preserved vegetables are made from scratch

@violetviolet888

7 ай бұрын

Agree

Steph, you're really growing into a great host :)

I would LOVE more comparison videos for ingredients that you can't get in the West!

Shoot. That burmese tea seems very, very interesting. Even if it's a different end product, a delicious variant is not bad at all.

Doesn't anyone know which exact type of vegetable is Ya Cai made from. Mustard Green is kinda too broad to try to find the seeds. Or to find its exact European/western equivalent. Thanks

How about a video on making Yacai and maybe on some of these other pickles? It might be hard to come by, but seems useful and I have a ready supply of mustard greens and plenty of fermentation vessels. What else goes into them? It seems that the true heart of Chinese food comes from the various fermentation processes, it would be great to get more insight into this side of Chinese cooking.

Hey, so I'm not a culinary expert or anything and your sub convinced me to get yacai. I definitely have never had anything like it but with your video, you only covered items in the leafy category. But interestingly enough, in my experience the closest thing I've tasted to yinbin yacai has been caper berries. Different than capers (more mustard) but less fermented since they are pickled. But I can't help but wonder if caper berries and a fermented liquid couldn't come closer than some of the items you posted (maybe caper berries plus black beans) If you have any questions to what I mean please message me on Reddit! (u/intrepped). I've followed you closely for years and thank you so much for your teachings!!

I kept being distracted by a furry creature and LOVING it...

I LOVE YOUR DOG

Hi love your channel. Can you list some recipes the use this ingredients please.

We can get Yin Bin Sui Mi Ya Cai here in the State through Amazon.

Where yucai is from anyway? I wanna know for sure!

I love Yacai so much. It goes well with minced pork.

What is your opinion on lucas sin using dill pickles for dan dan noodles ?

I love meicai quickly soaked and chopped up with American-style fried potatoes, especially with a little country ham.

I can get Yibin Yacai ( in the white package ) where I am, but only in 230 gram package. How long will it keep in the refrigerator ?? It is very tasty !!

The dog needs its own KZread channel.

I really enjoyed the differentiation among the various forms of cai, but feel the description of dong cai still leaves me guessing. I know you guys aren't from/in Tianjin, but could you please give some more specific examples of uses for dong cai than the generic "soups & stir-fries"?? My business partner is from Shanghai, thus has a very different flavor palate. Thanks in advance.

wowowo Yacai Yacai ~~Yacai Yacai , As Sichuanese, we will use it to cook Yacai Oil~~sometimes for Dandan Nooldes, we will add Yacai oil into it ~~ BTW, the dog so cute~~~

zhachi, especially spicy zahchi is yummy on it's own.

I can't find ya cai in Ecuador. It's the Chinese ingredient that I miss most. I'm heading back to my Chinese grocer to see if they have mei cai. Thanks for tackling this subject.

@ChineseCookingDemystified

3 жыл бұрын

Hey man, what's up. How's it going in Ecuador?

Can you teach us the preserving method? Since it’s hard to find outside China, maybe actually fermenting a vegetable (which one..) would be closer to a substitute, now that we know better what flavor profile we’re chasing here.

Do you think you could ever do a recipe to make Datoucai? I couldn't find anything in english and i'm allergic to mustard greens (and Alliums) so i can't get do any of the readily available pickles

@xmeowcatx6939

3 жыл бұрын

There's a recipe for it in the cookbook, "Mister Jiu's in Chinatown." It's called "fermented kohlrabi" in there.

question: could you guys cover how to make yacai? Mustard leaf with stems is quite available in the west, and it seems like it would probably be a pretty easy salt + leave to ferment + move to fridge for longer storage kind of thing.

@nikkiewhite476

3 жыл бұрын

Fermentation is a bit harder than leaving it on the counter. Please read up on proper sanitation and invest in proper vacu lock containers before trying it.

@TheVietnameseCatGoblin

3 жыл бұрын

@Nikkie White See, I’d disagree, as a Vietnamese growing up with mustard greens my mum made it all the time using an earthenware pot, so a “vacu lock” seems like a desired extra, not a must. Secondly I’ve made kimchi at home after moving to the West. Should people know the basic rules? Yes, like using clean utensils and only take out what you need for the meal, not mixing leftover back in. But these can be easily addressed in the video. Would I describe it as a “leave out to ferment” fare? Yes, yes I would. Do I think my kimchi would be good for selling to other people or leave for years? No, but I don’t need to do that, I just need it to last a couple weeks-months. I’d say the risk of this is similar to homemade chilli oil or making jam, which is regularly covered in this channel and on KZread overall.

@nikkiewhite476

3 жыл бұрын

@@TheVietnameseCatGoblin ah but you are someone with extensive knowledge on fermentation, picking and cooking. I bet your mum taught you all that stuff from early on. There is a horrible plague in white North America where somewhere after the 1950s parents mostly stopped teaching their kids how to cook. Especially in cities! A vast majority of them eat premade meals or the same basic 5 to 10 meals over and over. They have no clue how to bake let alone how to can food and heavens forbid they try to ferment something. Even experienced cooks can fail at fermentation. The first time my mom tried to make sour cabbage heads they turned pink and that was following the traditional method her second husbands mother gave her. I personally do fermentation on the counter. But I have been cooking, baking, canning, and picking since I was 5 years old. I know how to do it safely. KZreadrs have a level of responsibility when showcasing DIY stuff. If there is any possibility of harm they have to mitigate it. Google "Zhou Xiao Hui popcorn", that is one time things lead to death. I don't even know how many injuries or illnesses there are because they are not reported. Most of these people need vacu lock fermenters and a step by step introduction to cleaning and sanitizing because they don't know and are not willing to research the proper way themselves.

@ChineseCookingDemystified

3 жыл бұрын

Yacai needs a relatively complex multi-stage drying process, together with at least a half year fermentation. We'd like to cover it one day, but it'd be very difficult ground to cover. It's not a fermented pickle that people usually make in their own homes; it's generally the sort of thing that workshops do & people purchase at the market.

@kristaj0

3 жыл бұрын

This book has a recipe for Tianjin Preserved Vegetable (made from cabbage, not mustard greens) that is not too difficult and ends up somewhat similar to ya cai in texture and flavour. I used it as a sub for a while during a period when ya cai was mysteriously unavailable locally. Ya cai is better but this could do in a pinch (and it was fun to make). Quite different from the packaged stuff. www.amazon.ca/Asian-Pickles-Recipes-Fermented-Condiments-ebook/dp/B00B3GNRMS/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=china+pickles&qid=1616601510&sr=8-5

hi friend ! very nice. have a happy day.........

Ever since I've researched mics I notice now that almost everyone uses the shure sm7b now 😂

Would love to see the characters for each vegetable so I can look for them!

is japanese Karashi Takana the same as su mi ya cai?

That dog needs it's own show...

My partner and I were JUST talking about this at the grocery store yesterday, how did you know?!

You guys are really treasures. Y'all really give us no excuse to give it our all trying to make these dishes even abroad haha. I am gonna be annoying and ask is if you guys know if packaged cai chua is something close to a sub haha. (I bought some and I know next to nothing about it, it may even be one of those things that is different from brand to brand or may have different styles idk lol)

@ChineseCookingDemystified

3 жыл бұрын

The Vietnamese sort, yeah? Those would be a potential substitute for Suancai (i.e. "Candidate #3).

@nvizible

3 жыл бұрын

@@ChineseCookingDemystified Oh ok that makes sense! Thank you!

TFW only one kind of Yacai at my local store. I'm grateful for the one though.

Is the saltiness the main problem with the tianjin preserved vegetable as a substitute? Might be misremembering but I think Fuschia Dunlop suggests that you can rinse the excess salt off of dongcai and then use it as a substitute for yacai in certain of her recipes.

@tomkirkham5186

3 жыл бұрын

Hmm for some reason she says this. She doesn't seem to recognise the potential of meicai or meigancai... I followed her recommendation once, it puzzled me

Is the zha cai the same thing as ya cai?

What do you think about 冲菜头 (chung choy)? Would you know by the way what the difference between 大头菜 (datoucai) and 冲菜头 (chung choy)? I think 大头菜 is kohlrabi but 'm not quite sure what 冲菜头 is, maybe some sort of turnip?

@ChineseCookingDemystified

3 жыл бұрын

You can think of Chung Choy is a sub-category of datoucai - they're extremely similar. In Guangdong, Chung Choy is kind of specifically produced in Jiangmen (江门) - whether they have any specific way of producing it & whether/how it differs for from datoucai is beyond our pay grade :)

If I were, say, a completely obsessive home pickling fanatic with a couple of rows set aside in my garden for these za cai mustard seeds I've sourced - would you have any sources on how I might go about making my own yacai? hypothetically speaking lol I've found a couple of rough sketches of the two stage procedure online which would probably be enough for me to make a first stab at it. I'm not afraid of screwing up a 6-month to 1-year process, but it would be nice to have a line on more precise instructions if possible!

How do we use Tianjin preserved vegetable? I have some but never know what to do with it.

@billzigrang7005

3 жыл бұрын

Me, too.

Hi can you make a video how to make sichuan preserved veg zha cai.. i like the one made of king oyster mushroom and bamboo shoots but it is difficult to access here/ i cnt find the same thing it is luck based bcos i dont read mandarin lol thank you x

I love using ganlancai in fried rice with eggs.

Which one would you use in dry cooked green beans?

@ChineseCookingDemystified

3 жыл бұрын

Yacai

What dishes use 菜脯 ? my local chinese market doesn't have yacai, but they have salted preserved radish

@ChineseCookingDemystified

2 жыл бұрын

菜脯 is a Teochew style pickle, you can use it to make omelet, put it in congee, make some stir fries, it's quite nice (and salty).

@woolfel

2 жыл бұрын

@@ChineseCookingDemystified thank you. I made stir fry tofu and scrambled eggs with it. For eggs, I added scallions and it has a nice crunch.

Do you think Japanese takana (高菜) would work?

@ChineseCookingDemystified

3 жыл бұрын

It looks like suancai (candidate #4) to me, it has the same kind of yellowish-green color. So I'd assume it can be a good sub for suancai, which has a more sour and sharper note.

What is Dongcai actually used for? I have a jar and it's super salty

@ChineseCookingDemystified

3 жыл бұрын

It's added to soups and stir-fries :)

Wait, whats the difference between yacai and bean sprouts? Im asking because the chinese word for yacai in the description is the same as the chinese word for bean sprout.

@mediumslicedbaekhyunwithlo2346

3 жыл бұрын

the chinese word for bean sprouts is a literal translation: 豆芽 (dou ya), 豆 means bean, 芽 means sprout. bean sprouts are the sprouts from mung bean or soybean, it is not even remotely related to this yacai, which is pickled fermented mustard green. some areas in china might use yacai as a word for bean sprouts, but douya is definitely the more proper term. the chinese characters for yacai translate to sprout vegetable, which is very vague, so i guess that’s where the confusion comes from.