Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry

日曬高麗菜乾

Name: Sun-Dried Cabbage
Brand: Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry
SKU: YH070300
Price: 15.00 USD
Availability: InStock

Sun-Dried Cabbage

$15.00

Quantity

Introducing Taiwanese sun-dried cabbage—not a lesser form of this mighty cruciferous vegetable, but a richer one.

Taiwanese flat cabbage, or 高麗菜, is a cornerstone vegetable in Taiwanese cuisine, lending its peppery sweetness to the table. When slowly sun-dried, its flavor intensifies and transforms, in the same way sun-dried tomatoes and dried shiitake mushrooms are made richer by solarization. We don't think of this as a replacement for fresh cabbage, but as an entirely different form.

Use it to add leafy greens from the pantry in a pinch, but also for a hit of "brassica jazz." In other words, come for the convenience but stay for the flavor.

To use, soak a handful of dried cabbage leaves in hot water for 30 minutes, squeeze dry, and toss them in. Like a sun-dried tomato, the texture is different from the fresh version, but holds up with a bite of its own. It's edible straight out of the bag, too—experiment with it as a crunchy topping, or stir fry directly for a chewier mouthfeel.

One of the oldest methods of food preservation, sun-drying is an energy-efficient, lo-fi technique practiced throughout Taiwan. The most commonly known Taiwanese sun-dried food might be shiitake mushrooms, but ai yu jelly seeds are also sun-dried. Not to mention the daikon for our cured radishes. But, the technique is used to dry many things, from mustard greens to seafood.

The uniform and faster drying environment of a dehydrator or oven doesn't hold a candle to this age-old technique, which makes sense, considering the sun is our largest candle of all.

A Note About This Version

This is a replacement for the dried cabbage mix we previously stocked. When we needed to find a new supplier, we decided to source our own and are presenting this new and improved (sugar-free!) version under our house brand. It's pure cabbage, completely free of added salt, sugar, or other seasonings, and we really stand by it.

If using this new one as a replacement for the old, please expect the same level of sweetness from the cabbage alone, and note that there is no added salt, so you may need to use a little more than in the past.

How It's Made

Our dried cabbage producer Mr. Chen 陳 is a former champion oolong tea producer, whose family has been in the dried goods business for over 60 years. He personally sources cabbage from central Taiwan, and applies techniques from his tea-making background to dry cabbage meticulously, yielding a sweet and flavorful product without any additives.

After being washed and sliced, the fresh cabbage undergoes three rounds of sun-drying before it reaches the optimal texture: not so dry that it loses color and texture, but not too moist, to prevent spoilage.

The primary challenge is to remove moisture quickly enough, to limit the sun exposure to just whats needed. To achieve this, cabbage leaves that have been sun-withered are kneaded together inside a cloth bag. This technique is borrowed from oolong tea making, where it's primarily used to roll and oxidize tea leaves. Here it rapidly reduces moisture and is responsible for the curved shape of the dried cabbage leaves.

This process is done mostly by hand to ensure consistent quality and taste among batches.

Tasting Notes and Usage

Mildly peppery and naturally sweet, with tender leaves.

To reconstitute, boil for 1-2 minutes or soak for 30-60 minutes, then strain. For soups or braises, add directly; no reconstitution is needed. For an instant, no-cook cabbage stock, steep in hot water until the leaves are soft, and salt to taste.

To inspire you to use dried cabbage in your day-to-day, we've put together two recipe bundles:

Cabbage Stock: An easy no cook stock. Drink it straight or use as a base for other soups.
Cabbage Rice: A simple but addictive dish that calls back to pre-war agrarian cooking in Taiwan. Not all soaked and soft, but smoky, rich, and lip-smacking.