| Meigan cai | |||||||||||||||||
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 A bundle of meigan cai | |||||||||||||||||
| Meigan cai | |||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 梅乾菜 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 梅干菜 | ||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | plum dried vegetable | ||||||||||||||||
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| Meicai | |||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 梅菜 | ||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | plum vegetable | ||||||||||||||||
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| Second alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 霉菜 | ||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | moldy vegetable | ||||||||||||||||
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Meigan cai, also called mei cai or mui choy, 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.
The pickle consists of a whole head of various varieties of 芥菜 (Chinese mustard), 油菜 (rape), and 白菜 (Chinese cabbage) that has undergone an elaborate process consisting of drying, steaming, and salting. 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.
