As a native of Ningbo, xuecai is a truly essential ingredient—there’s even an old saying that goes, “Don’t eat xuecai soup for three days, or your feet will ache.” It shows up on our tables almost every day in dishes like stir-fried edamame with xuecai, xuecai potatoes, and xuecai豆瓣酥; the most famous version is probably […]
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| silver cod | |
| pickled mustard greens (xuecai) | |
| dried red chili peppers |

Ingredients: silver cod, pickled mustard greens (I used pre-packaged ones; you can also buy them loose at the market — even better with bamboo shoot strips), dried red chili peppers (optional, I added them for color and flavor).

Prep the ingredients: rinse the silver cod clean, then marinate with cooking wine, scallion-ginger water, and white pepper for a bit. Remove stems and seeds from the dried chilies and cut into thin rings.

Pat the marinated cod dry with paper towels and place it on a plate.

Heat a wok, add lard, and stir-fry the pickled mustard greens.

Pickled mustard greens absorb a lot of oil, so be generous. Stir-fry thoroughly to cook out the sourness. Add sugar, salt, and chili rings, and keep stir-frying until the liquid becomes slightly thick and sticky.

Spread the stir-fried pickled mustard greens over the cod.

Bring water to a boil in a steamer, then place the cod in and start steaming.

Steam for about 10 minutes and it’s done.

The flavors of the pickled greens and lard seep into the cod — double the umami. The cod’s rich, fatty texture is even better than hairtail or yellow croaker.
As a native of Ningbo, xuecai is a truly essential ingredient—there’s even an old saying that goes, “Don’t eat xuecai soup for three days, or your feet will ache.” It shows up on our tables almost every day in dishes like stir-fried edamame with xuecai, xuecai potatoes, and xuecai豆瓣酥; the most famous version is probably […]
Ingredients: silver cod, pickled mustard greens (I used pre-packaged ones; you can also buy them loose at the market — even better with bamboo shoot strips), dried red chili peppers (optional, I added them for color and flavor).
Prep the ingredients: rinse the silver cod clean, then marinate with cooking wine, scallion-ginger water, and white pepper for a bit. Remove stems and seeds from the dried chilies and cut into thin rings.
Pat the marinated cod dry with paper towels and place it on a plate.
Heat a wok, add lard, and stir-fry the pickled mustard greens.
Pickled mustard greens absorb a lot of oil, so be generous. Stir-fry thoroughly to cook out the sourness. Add sugar, salt, and chili rings, and keep stir-frying until the liquid becomes slightly thick and sticky.
Spread the stir-fried pickled mustard greens over the cod.
Bring water to a boil in a steamer, then place the cod in and start steaming.
Steam for about 10 minutes and it’s done.
The flavors of the pickled greens and lard seep into the cod — double the umami. The cod’s rich, fatty texture is even better than hairtail or yellow croaker.