In Shenyang in the Northwestern part of China, the locals call the Chinese cabbage “wawa chai”. It is a very common vegetables use in daily cooking and also for making fermented dishes. One day I saw a truck deliver some Chinese cabbages and the shop started drying them in the sun. And I have seen this many times around my compound too, especially near the Spring Festival time period. I know that some prices of meat and vegetables go up during Spring Festival and therefore people will buy a large volume of food weeks ahead and stop them. Drying the Chinese cabbage in the sun could be one way of storing them better or they are being prepared for a fermented dish. It is one of the mysteries that I haven’t solved yet. To be continued.
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