Olive vegetables are the leaves of shepherd's purse.

Chaoshan olive vegetable is made from mustard and olives which are abundant in Chaoshan area, and it is made by the traditional process of salting, fermenting and cooking. It is one of the main miscellaneous salty dishes in Chaoshan and an important part of Chaoshan food culture.

The production technology of Chaoshan olive vegetables has a long history, which is widely spread in longhu district, Chenghai and surrounding towns. Qing Jiaqing's anonymous Chenghai County Records records: "Mustard, also known as cabbage, was planted in many fields in this county after the autumn harvest. Pickled after harvest, delicious. Skilled women in Chenghai cook black olives with local olives and salted mustard. " In the mid-Qing Dynasty, workshops such as Ganheng Cuisine Gallery, Tiansheng Cuisine Gallery and Shunchang Thai Cuisine Gallery appeared in Waisha Township, Chenghai County, showing the prevalence of olive production.

The production technology of olive vegetables can be traced back to the Song and Ming Dynasties. After processing, it has the characteristics of "clear, fresh, refreshing, tender and smooth", which can be said to be a wonderful flower in the well-known Chaozhou cuisine. Olive vegetable is colorful, fragrant and delicious, so it has become a side dish in Chaoshan people's daily home.

The importance of olive vegetable to Chaoshan people:

Olive vegetable is a flavor dish in Chaoshan area, belonging to Chaozhou cuisine in Cantonese cuisine, a characteristic variety of pickles in Chaoshan area, and an important part of Chaoshan food culture.

In the past, almost every rural family in Chaoshan had three porcelain urns in their homes, one for olives, one for vegetables and one for preserved vegetables. These three jars of food support the salty taste of three meals, and the salty taste of porridge for breakfast. A few olives, a preserved vegetable and several petals of pickles are pulled out of the jar, so is lunch and dinner, day after day and year after year.

In that era of poverty and suffering, the "Three Treasures of Chaoshan" was a mixture on which Chaoshan people lived. Therefore, every autumn and winter, farmers are busy drying preserved vegetables, pickled olives and pickled vegetables, and storing the table for the new year.

Today, the production technology of Chaoshan olive vegetables has a long history and is widely spread in longhu district, Chenghai District and surrounding villages and towns, which not only has nutritional value, but also has historical and humanistic research value. After Shantou opened the dock, Chaoshan people crossed the ocean, and olive dishes were also sold to Southeast Asian countries. Overseas hipsters called them "homesick dishes", which enhanced their sense of identity with their hometown culture.