Five-Spice Cured Turnip 五香大头菜

Five-Spice Cured Turnip (五香大头菜) is a jarred preserve of salted, sun-dried datoucai (大头菜) roots listed by the Suyu district (宿豫区) government of Suqian (宿迁), Jiangsu, among its local specialties.

How it is made

The roots are selected, washed and trimmed, then salted, dried in the sun and soaked in their original brine. The dried roots are mixed evenly with roasted refined salt, vinegar and five-spice powder made from Sichuan pepper, pepper, star anise, cassia bark and fennel. The mixture is packed into earthenware jars and sealed for seven days, after which Five-Spice Cured Turnip is ready to eat.

Flavour and texture

The finished preserve is a deep sauce-brown, with a clean aroma and a crisp, tender bite that leaves no fibrous residue when chewed. Its peppery heat is strong, and the district presents it as a relish that sharpens the appetite.

Where it comes from

The Suyu district government traces the preserve to the early Ming dynasty and records two older names, Zhengde fragrant vegetable (正德香菜) and Qianlong fragrant vegetable (乾隆香菜). It lists it as a famous Chinese dish, a quality food of the Ministry of Commerce and of Jiangsu, and a product under key protection by the Suqian city government, and says it won a gold medal at the Panama International Exposition in 1927.