Is pickled mustard greens the same as olive vegetable? What is the difference between the two

Pickled mustard greens are a specialty of the Huizhou region in Guangdong, and Huizhou's pickled mustard greens are even a national geographical indication brand; they are a pickled food. After pickling, the appearance of pickled mustard greens is very similar to that of pickled olive vegetable, so many friends mistakenly take pickled mustard greens for olive vegetable. So are the two actually the same thing?

1. Is pickled mustard greens the same as olive vegetable

Pickled mustard greens and olive vegetable are not the same vegetable. In Huizhou, pickled mustard greens are also called “Huizhou tribute vegetable.” They are made by rural people from fresh mustard greens through multiple steps such as sun-drying, careful selection and salting. Fresh mustard greens belong to the large-leaf mustard of the genus Brassica in the family Brassicaceae, and resemble mustard greens in appearance. Olive vegetable is a flavorful side dish from the Chaoshan region of Guangdong, made by processing olives and mustard greens. In addition, pickled mustard greens are dark yellow in color, while olive vegetable is dark black, so they are not hard to tell apart.

The main production areas of pickled mustard greens are the Meizhou region and the Huizhou region, where they are a famous specialty with more than 360 years of cultivation and production history. They are one of the three famous dishes of Lingnan, and legend says they were made from vegetable seeds given by the immortal Ma Gu, hence the name pickled mustard greens. The making of olive vegetable can be traced back to the Song and Ming dynasties, with its main production areas in the Chaozhou and Shantou regions. It belongs to Chaozhou cuisine within the Cantonese cuisine system, and is made by frying the mellow taste of olives with the plump leaves of mustard greens.

2. How pickled mustard greens and olive vegetable are eaten

Pickled mustard greens can not only be made into a dish on their own, but can also be used as an ingredient to make dishes such as pickled mustard green braised pork, steamed pork with pickled mustard greens, steamed beef with pickled mustard greens, steamed fresh fish with pickled mustard greens and pickled mustard green soup. The common way to make pickled mustard green braised pork is to cook the pork, brush it with soy sauce, then fry it in a pot until dark red. After cutting it, arrange the meat neatly in a bowl with the meat facing down, put dried pickled mustard greens on top of the meat, steam until the meat is soft and tender, then take it out and turn it onto a plate.

Olive vegetable is generally made as a dish on its own and is rarely mixed with other vegetables. The common way to make olive vegetable is to clean the olives, soak and rinse them in clean water, and filter off the sour and astringent liquid. Then choose salted sour mustard greens and chop them with a knife. Put the olives and mustard green leaves into an iron pot, add peanut oil and an appropriate amount of salt, and simmer over low heat until nearly cooked and soft. Add the auxiliary ingredients and mix evenly, then cook for another five minutes and it is done.

The above is all about the difference between pickled mustard greens and olive vegetable. Friends born in the Guangdong region truly have quite the treat for their taste buds.