Dàtóucài

Chinese salt-cured turnip: the root sliced, dried, and brined with spice into a firm, dark, savoury preserve for rice and congee

Origin: Southern and South-Western China

From the journey of Turnip.

The turnip, domesticated in China wholly apart from its Near Eastern cousin, is one of the old root vegetables of the country, the manjing of the historical record, important enough to have been the subject of imperial edicts urging its planting as a guard against famine, for it grows fast, stores well, and salts down to last the winter. Its most characteristic Chinese form is not the fresh root but the preserve: dàtóucài, literally the 'big-head vegetable', the turnip cut, salted, partly sun-dried, and cured with spice into a firm, chewy, dark, intensely savoury pickle. Like the other great salted vegetables of the Chinese larder, dàtóucài is not eaten on its own but as a seasoning and a relish: chopped fine and scattered over a bowl of plain rice congee at breakfast, stir-fried with chilli and a little sugar, folded into minced-pork dishes and noodle bowls, where its concentrated salty-savoury depth and its crunch lift the blandness of the rice or the noodle. It is the everyday preserve of the southern and south-western provinces, a way of keeping the autumn turnip glut through the lean months that has fed the Chinese table for many centuries.

Ingredients

Cure

  • 1 kg turnips, peeled and cut into 1 cm-thick batons or slices
  • 40 g coarse sea salt (about 4 per cent of the turnip weight)

Spicing

  • 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
  • 2 star anise
  • 1 tbsp chilli flakes (optional)
  • 1 tbsp sugar

To serve

  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (to dress, for serving)

Method

  1. Spread the turnip batons on a rack or tray and leave in a warm, airy place (or in the sun) for 6–12 hours, turning once, until the surfaces have dried and the pieces are slightly leathery and limp. This partial drying gives the preserve its characteristic chew.
  2. Toss the dried turnip thoroughly with the salt in a large bowl, massaging it in, then leave for 1 hour. Pour off the brine that draws out.
  3. Toast the Sichuan peppercorns and star anise in a dry pan for a minute until fragrant. Add to the turnip with the chilli flakes and sugar and mix well.
  4. Pack the turnip and spices firmly into a clean jar, pressing down to expel air, and seal. Leave in a cool, dark place for 3–5 days to cure, turning the jar daily.
  5. To serve, lift out as much as you need, chop finely, and dress with a little toasted sesame oil. Scatter over rice congee, fold into stir-fries, or eat as a relish with plain rice.

Notes

Once cured, dàtóucài keeps for several weeks refrigerated and grows deeper and saltier with time; rinse briefly before use if it becomes too salty for you. It is a seasoning, not a side dish: a little goes a long way, chopped into fried rice, minced-pork stir-fries, or a breakfast bowl of congee. The same method works for swede or kohlrabi. Commercial dàtóucài is sold vacuum-packed in Chinese grocers, but the home-cured version is fresher and crunchier.

The Gastrographer

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Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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