Szechuan Preserved Vegetables with Shredded Pork (Zha Tsai Rou Si)

Szechuan Pickled Vegetable ('Zha Tsai') is a delicious and versatile ingredient which can be used in everything from stir-fries to noodle soups, and as a condiment over cold tofu & thousand-year-old eggs, wontons in chili oil and congee (rice porridge). This "pickle" is essentially the swollen stem of a type of mustard plant that is salted, rubbed in chili spices, pressed and then preserved-traditionally in some type of earthenware jar. Nowadays you can buy these in convenient packages, with some already julienned, in the refrigerated sections of many Asian markets (e.g., 99 Ranch Market). I myself still like to buy the canned variety though - seems to have more depth & intensity in flavor. If adding to a bland ingredient like tofu, you don't really need to rinse or soak the Zha Tsai. However, in other dishes you might want to tone down the pungently salty and spicy flavor of this veggie by giving it a quick rinse and soak before using. Zha Tsai with shredded pork is great served with steamed white rice. It's also the base for making noodles with Szechuan Pickled Vegetables and Shredded Pork ('Zha Tsai Rou Si Mian').