Miaoli Gongguan Preserved Mustard Greens (Fu Cai) | Miaoli Signature Dish

Walking through the Hakka villages of Gongguan Township, you often see rows of glass bottles piled by the roadside, mouths facing downward on racks, the insides packed with dark green pickled greens. This is what Hakka people call "fu cai" — a semi-dry fermented mustard green preserve. The Hakka original spelling is "fu cai" (覆菜), meaning "inverted greens" for the upside-down bottling method; the Mandarin version "fu cai" (福菜, "lucky greens") has stuck through folk usage. Gongguan Township is the most important pickling hub for fu cai in Taiwan. It is indispensable in Hakka preserved mustard green soup with sliced pork, braised pork belly, and layered steamed pork — earning it the title "the soul supporting ingredient of Hakka cuisine."

What is Gongguan Fu Cai

Fu cai is made from "heart mustard greens" (commonly called long-life greens) through a multi-step process: salting, sun-drying, pressing, and bottling. The mustard greens are first rubbed with salt and pressed to draw out moisture, producing "salty greens" (xian cai); they are then partially sun-dried, packed tightly into glass bottles, sealed upside-down, and left to ferment for several months to become fu cai. If drying continues until fully desiccated, the result is "meigan cai" (dried mustard). All three are essentially stages of the same mustard green at different moisture levels: xian cai is wet, fu cai is semi-dry, meigan cai is fully dry. Hakka households keep all three on hand throughout the year.

The area around Zhongyi Village and Kaikuang Village in Gongguan Township, with its climate, water quality, and concentrated Hakka population, became Taiwan's leading fu cai pickling center. The local brand "A-Huan Bo Foods" was the first to industrialize traditional fu cai production and now exports to Hakka communities in Southeast Asia. The Gongguan Township Farmers' Association holds an annual Fu Cai Culture Festival to promote industry awareness. When added to dishes, fu cai delivers a savory, gradually sweet depth with a natural fermentation tang that instantly elevates soups, braises, and steamed fish — it is a staple flavor base kept in every Miaoli Hakka household.

How to eat it like a local

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Fu cai and pork soupA Hakka classic: bone broth with fu cai and sliced pork — savory, subtly sweet, and warming.

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Fu cai braised pork bellyPork belly and fu cai braised together — the fu cai absorbs the fat and the pork absorbs the savory brine; perfect with white rice.

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Fu cai steamed fishFresh fish steamed over a layer of fu cai — the land and sea salinity complement each other; a staple at Hakka banquets.

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Lunchbox toppingStir-fried fu cai holds up well cold without losing flavor — a common side dish in Hakka lunch boxes, savory and great with rice.

Local knowledge

Verified facts (sponsor-filtered)

Gongguan Township is Taiwan's primary fu cai pickling hub; the Gongguan Township Farmers' Association holds a Fu Cai Culture Festival every year.
A-Huan Bo Foods was the first to industrialize fu cai production and export it to Southeast Asian markets.
The Council for Hakka Affairs lists fu cai as one of the Hakka Three Treasures, alongside meigan cai and xian cai.

Tips for visiting

Glass-bottled fu cai must be refrigerated after opening; for long-term storage, freeze it.
Rinse fu cai under water before cooking to adjust the saltiness and prevent the dish from becoming too salty.
Vacuum-packed fu cai is easier to carry as a souvenir than glass bottles, which are heavy.

Information compiled from the Miaoli County Government Tourism Bureau, township and district farmers' associations, and large-scale public reviews; sponsored listings have been excluded. Photos to be replaced with channel-exclusive footage after Dio's on-site shoot.

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