Dried mushrooms (that is, dried black vegetables) is a cheap and good traditional non-staple food in Shaoxing, and also a famous specialty in Shaoxing, with a long production history. As early as in Yue Zhong Bianlan, the moldy dried vegetables were described as follows: "There are dried mustard, dried rape and dried cabbage. Mustard is delicious, rape is flat and cabbage is tender. It is used to cook ducks and barbecue, and Shaoxing residents make it themselves. " It can be seen that the production of Shaoxing dried mushrooms was extremely common at that time. In Qing dynasty, dry mold was once regarded as one of the "eight great tributes" in Shaoxing. Farmers or craftsmen who used to go out to work mostly like to put a little steamed black dried fruit in the rice basket, which is convenient to carry and suitable for eating. It is said that on a hot day, if dried vegetables are put in a lunch box, they will not turn sour for a while. Up to now, the habit of pickling and drying vegetables in urban and rural families is still very common, and even many overseas Chinese housewives are willing to make them themselves.

Shaoxing dried vegetables are dark and moist in color, mellow in taste and resistant to storage. It can be divided into three types: dried cabbage, dried rape and dried mustard, and dried mustard is the best. Dried mustard is the best variety of "Hundred Brain Mustard". "Bainao Mustard" has many kernels and slender stems and leaves, so it can be harvested and tender in time. The dried vegetables cooked in the sun, the darker they are steamed, the softer they are and the more fragrant they are. Before Tomb-Sweeping Day, the Chinese cabbage was dried, tied with small bundles of gold and silver wires, put into a small salted jar, taken out after the marinade dripped, dried and steamed, dried in the sun for many times until the color was bright and fragrant, and finally sealed in a vegetable jar decorated with landscapes outside. According to the memories of the old people who made tribute dishes in the Qing Dynasty, such refined tribute dishes were supervised by Shaoxing Magistrate and Shanyin County, weighing only one thousand kilograms every year. The altar was sealed in yellow and transported to Beijing by special personnel. It is said that Emperor Qianlong visited Jiangnan six times and came to Shaoxing to taste the dishes and food markets made of tributes. At present, almost all farmers in Shaoxing start from scratch, and every household has a standing stock, which is constant all year round. The annual output of commercial dried vegetables is more than 25 tons, which are exported at home and abroad.

Shaoxing dried mushrooms are not only used as side dishes, but also as accessories for various dishes. Commonly used for steaming, braising, making soup, baking bamboo shoots, cooking fish, stewing chicken, steaming tofu, etc. They are delicious and appetizing. In summer, using dry moldy vegetables with a pinch of tender dried bamboo shoots as soup can quench thirst, relieve summer heat, prevent malnutrition and restore physical strength. "Braised pork with mushrooms" is a typical Shao-style dish, which was once written into China Menu. This dish consists of dried mushrooms and pork belly, with seasonings such as Shao wine and sugar, stewed first and then steamed. The finished dish is dark, slightly sweet, red and bright, fat but not greasy. At present, this dish is very popular with customers in some restaurants, and some foreign tourists also like to buy several bags to take home to taste. Mr. Lu Xun and Premier Zhou Enlai also loved this hometown dish. Braised meat with moldy dried vegetables has been praised by many international friends. 1972, US President Nixon visited China and came to Hangzhou. At the banquet outside the building in Hangzhou, there was a hometown dish of Premier Zhou, "Braised Meat with Mildew Dried Vegetables", which Nixon claimed to be ok after eating!

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Pickled dried potherb mustard

Origin: Meizhou, Guangdong, China.

Technology: "Dried plum" is a local Hakka dish. In late autumn and early winter, the mustard in the garden is covered with moss. It has a thick thumb and a bud at the top. Shaped like autumn grapes, crisp and tender. At this time, pick the cabbage and air it for a few days. When the leaves become soft, put them into the pot, sprinkle with salt and rub them with your hands. When vegetable juice oozes, put it into a pottery urn, sprinkle a layer of salt, and seal the urn with mustard leaves or bamboo shoots. After ten days and a half, it was taken out and dried in the sun, and it became a golden, salty and delicious dried plum dish.

Usage: The dishes cooked with dried plums are delicious and unforgettable. For example, braised pork with dried plums, because the meat is filled with the fragrance of dried plums, and dried plums are fragrant with meat, so they complement each other and smell fragrant, fat but not greasy.