Preserved mustard greens

Leaves of the mustard plant: peppery, a little bitter, and softened by long cooking.

What to do with it

Classics built on it

AnhuiHuangshan shaobingA small, flaky, round pastry filled with preserved mustard greens and fatty pork, crusted with sesame and baked against the wall of a charcoal oven.No one here has made it yet

Kinds

Sarson: The Punjabi mustard leaf, for sarson da saag.
Gai choy: Broad-stemmed Chinese mustard, often pickled — yacai and suan cai.
Red or frilly mustard: Young leaves for salads.

Knowing it

Where to buy: South Asian and Chinese grocers in winter.
A little history: Sarson da saag with makki di roti, maize flatbread, is the Punjabi winter meal.
Worth knowing: Cook it long with some spinach, mash it, and bind with a spoonful of maize flour, as they do in Punjab.

Kitchens that keep it in

Anhui province, eastern ChinaAnhuiMountain cooking from old Huizhou: bamboo shoots, mushrooms and cured things, braised long and dark, with a taste for the fermented — stinky fish and hairy tofu.8 classics