Home » Teochew Treasure Cabbage (Chai Choy) 传统潮州包菜

Teochew Treasure Cabbage (Chai Choy) 传统潮州包菜

by Angie Liew
Teochew Treasure Cabbage

 

Teochew Treasure Cabbage

This is another of my family’s most treasured vegetarian dish, proudly named our teochew treasure cabbage(传统潮州包菜). There may be different versions of this vegetarian dish based on one’s dialect background but this is the one version my family likes so much. It is a precious tradition passed down by my mum, my mum-in-law, their mums and their mums’ mum.

Teochew Treasure Cabbage

When I was little, I remembered how my mum used to make this dish on the first day of Chinese New Year and all my family members would gather looking forward just to have this when they came visiting on that auspicious morning. And there was just never enough to go around!

Teochew Treasure Cabbage

Teochew Treasure Cabbage is truly a vegetarian delight and its very easy to prepare. The main fresh vegetable used is the sweet yet crunchy green cabbage and tomatoes which give this dish a distinct sweet and sour taste. The other typical vegetable used is the flavourful dried shiitake mushrooms. However, the highlights are actually the other dried ingredients like the sweet beancurd sheets, dried beancurd skin, glass noodles and the MUST have, fried gluten balls (or gluten puffs).

The final product is a colourful, mouthwatering, slightly sweet and savoury dish that goes perfectly well with a bowl of hot steamed rice. This dish can also be eaten as a one dish meal as the addition of glass noodles and vegetables can make it so wholesome.

Teochew Treasure Cabbage

Teochew Treasure Cabbage

Teochew Treasure Cabbage (Chai Choy) 传统潮州包菜

Recipe by Huang Kitchen, Angie Liew
Teochew Treasure Cabbage is a traditional vegetarian dish and it is very simple to cook. Just stir fry fresh green cabbage with other dry flavourful ingredients like shiitake mushrooms and dried beancurd products. Then let them simmer in some mushroom water and adjust seasonings to taste. And we're done!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time1 hour 35 minutes

Tap or Hover to Adjust Servings

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients
 

  • 500 gram cabbage, cut into thick pieces
  • 10 pieces dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked till soft, cut quarters
  • 10 gram glass vermicelli/tang hoon, soaked till soft
  • 3 sweet bean curd sheets, soaked till soft, cut to thick slices
  • 1 cup mushroom water, retained from soaked mushrooms
  • 1 tomato, cut into wedges
  • 3 dried bean curd skin, wiped, deep fried till golden brown
  • 10 fried gluten balls
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil

Seasoning

  • 2 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce, to taste
  • 1 tsp salt, to taste
  • 1 tsp mushroom seasoning

    Instructions
     

    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      To cook this vegetarian dish, have ready all fresh and dried ingredients needed.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Also, pre-measure all seasonings required.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Start by first soaking dried shiitake mushrooms in cold water till soft, about 1 hour.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      When mushrooms have softened, drained well and squeeze off excess water from them.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Retain the mushroom water for later use.
    • Vegetarian Sambal Asparagus With Long Beans
      Separate the mushroom stems from the mushrooms cap by snipping them off with a pair of scissors.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Cut the softened mushrooms in halves or quarters and minced the mushroom stems for later use.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Remove the cabbage leaves, piece by piece and then wash under running water. If you notice any signs of worms or insects, which sometimes appears in cabbage, soak in salt water or vinegar water for 15-20 minutes first. Then drain well.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Cut the cleaned cabbage into thick slices and set aside.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Next, soak dried sweet beancurd sheets in cold water till slightly softened.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Using a pair of scissors, cut into thick slices and set aside.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Next, soaked dried glass noodles in cold water till soft and drained well.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Cut tomato into wedges and set aside.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Then, in a pot of boiling water, briefly blanch the fried gluten balls to remove excess oil in them.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Drained well and set aside for later use.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Next, heat a wok with oil over high heat. Insert a wooden stick into the oil. The oil will bubble around the stick when it's ready for frying.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Once oil is hot enough, fry the dried beancurd skin, piece by piece, till just golden brown. Each piece takes less than a minute.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Drained the fried beancurd skin on a tray lined with paper towels to remove excess oil. Set aside for later use.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      In the same wok, fry the drained and slightly softened sweet beancurd sheets, till golden brown in colour.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Remove and drained well for later use.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Retain 1 tbsp oil in wok, add in cut mushroom caps. Then add in 1 tbsp sugar.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Stir fry the mushroom caps till fragrant.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Remove and drained well.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Then add in the minced mushroom stems and stir fry till aromatic, about 2 minutes.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Add in the thick slices of green cabbage and stir fry till the cabbage has slightly softened.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Next, add in the fried shiitake mushrooms.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Followed by strained mushroom water.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Then, add in the tomato wedges.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Add in sugar.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Followed by salt.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Also the vegetarian oyster sauce.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Some soy sauce.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      And mushroom seasoning. Stir fry to make sure all the seasonings are well mixed with the vegetables.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Next, add in the softened glass noodles.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Followed by the fried sweet beancurd sheets.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      And the gluten balls.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Lastly, add in the fried beancurd skin.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Turn heat to medium low and let simmer covered till beancurd skin has softened, about 5 minutes. And we're done! Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
    • Teochew Treasure Cabbage
      Serve warm with hot steamed rice. As always, ENJOY!

Enjoy!

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Notes

Try to use a wok to fry this dish for ease of stir frying the vegetables and also a more even heat.
Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in cold water. Try to avoid soaking in hot water or soak for too long to ensure more of the earthy mushrooms flavour can be retained.
Make sure not to overcook this dish as you will want the mushrooms and glass noodles to still have a bite and the green cabbage pieces still intact.
Keyword: beancurd skin, meatless, teochew, vegan, vegetarian

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