Is Meicai the Same as Mustard? A Clear Explanation of the Differences Between the Two

Both meicai and mustard can be made into preserved mustard greens (meigan cai), so many people cannot tell meicai and mustard apart, and some even think that meicai is mustard, but in fact this is not the case. Here we explain the differences between meicai and mustard.

1. The differences between meicai and mustard

Fresh meicai belongs to the large-leaf mustard (Brassica juncea) of the genus Brassica in the family Brassicaceae, and its appearance is similar to that of mustard. The difference between the two is that the stem of mustard is flat, while the stem of meicai is slightly round with a depression in the middle. Mustard is an annual herbaceous plant of the genus Brassica in the family Brassicaceae, and it is cultivated in various parts of China. Its leaves are salted for food; its seeds and the whole plant are used medicinally. Large-leaf mustard is a cultivated variety of Brassica juncea of the genus Brassica, so it can be said that the two are both distinct and related. In the traditional sense, what we call meicai generally refers to a distinctive traditional famous dish of Guangdong (Meizhou, Huizhou), which is a pickled food product made from fresh meicai as the raw material through pickling and then desalting processes.

Meicai, yacai, yancai, as well as other common pickled vegetables, sour vegetables, pickles and so on, most of these salted vegetables were originally various mustards, all taste salty, and most have a fermentation process. They can be collectively called vegetable pickled products, but they do not belong to the same kind of vegetable. In Huizhou, meicai is also called “Huizhou tribute vegetable.” It is made in rural areas from fresh meicai through multiple processes such as sun-drying, careful selection, and salting, and it can be used as an ingredient to make dishes such as meicai braised pork (meicai kourou), steamed pork with meicai, steamed beef with meicai, steamed fresh fish with meicai, and meicai soup.

2. The main method for making meicai braised pork (meicai kourou)

Perhaps the most famous dish made with meicai is meicai kourou. This dish has tender, falling-apart meat and a very rich aroma, and the meat pieces are fatty but not greasy. There are also many ways to make it, so here we introduce a common method for meicai kourou.

First scrape and wash the pork skin clean, put it into a pot of cold water, heat and boil until it is 80 percent cooked, take it out, wipe the moisture off the pork skin with a clean cloth, and while it is hot spread soy sauce on it. Then put the pot on the heat and pour in clear oil. After it is heated to 80 percent hot, put the pork belly in the pot skin-side down and fry until it is deep red, take it out and let it cool, place it skin-side down on a cutting board, cut it into large slices 7 cm long and 2 cm thick, and then make another horizontal cut in the middle without cutting through the skin. Finally, arrange the meat neatly in a bowl with the meat facing down, put preserved mustard greens (meigan cai) on top of the meat, evenly pour in soy sauce, steam in a steamer for about 30 minutes until the meat is soft and tender, then take it out and invert it onto a plate.

The above is some relevant knowledge about meicai and mustard. Although both belong to the genus Brassica, there are still distinctions, so you should not be unable to tell them apart.