Sichuan Pao Cai, or literally meaning "soaked vegetables" but a special style of naturally fermented vegetables from the southwestern province, has gained global recognition and protection with a landmark China-EU agreement on geographical indication mutual recognition.
With its most distinctive feature of involving a perpetual brine, pao cai is part of everyday diet of Sichuan natives, served as a snack, a side dish, or cooked into stir-fries, soups, and noodles.
"If you take pao cai out of Sichuan cuisine, it loses its very meaning. It loses its soul. Without pao cai, it's no longer Sichuan cuisine," said Luo Gang, Head Chef of the Huichuan Restaurant in Sichuan.
Different from western pickles, which are mostly fermented with vinegar, Sichuan Pao Cai has the vegetables fermenting in their own juices with brine to create unique flavors. In local families, old brine is reused like sourdough starter, and ferment jars can be passed down for generations.
Meishan, a city adjacent to the provincial capital Chengdu, is the unequivocal center of the Pao Cai industry. Each year, factories here churn out 150 tons of fermented vegetables of all sorts, like cabbage, radish, carrots, beans, potatoes, chili, and ginger.
"Everything can be pickled, anything at all. In the past, families made their own pao cai at home. Now, with industrialized and standardized production, we've creating tastier and more diversified products," said Wang Yanling, Marketing Manager of the Sichuan Daziran Huichuan Food Cooperation.
In July 2020, China and the EU signed a landmark reciprocal agreement to protect geographical indication (GI) products from both sides, including Sichuan Pao Cai. Under the agreement, only products produced in Sichuan can be labeled as Sichuan Pao Cai.
"It proves the product's safety, quality, and reliability are all certified by the government. I think that brings real benefits," said Wang.
As the list continues to expand, the agreement now covers 275 GI products from each side, including China's Anji White Tea, Baoshan Coffee, and Pixian Bean Paste, as well as French Champagne, Italian Parma ham, and Greek feta cheese on the European side.
Sichuan Pao Cai receives China-EU geological indication
