Chap Chye Recipe (Braised Mixed Vegetables) - The Burning Kitchen (2024)

Chap Chye in Hokkien means Mixed Vegetables and ‘Zhai’ inCantonese means Vegetarian. There are many versions and styles in cooking chap chye. For the Hokkien and Nyonya version, yellow fermented bean (Tau Cheo) is used instead of red bean curd, which is used in the Cantonese version. Whatever dialect group, the main ingredient of this dish is cabbage which shouldnot be left out.

The recipe I am sharing is typically a Cantonese version which we normally cook during Chinese New Year. We will prepare a big pot the day before andserve to relatives and friendswho come on the first day of Chinese New Year.

• It’s a great dish to make for vegetarians, as there’s lots of different flavours and textures in the dish!
• It also goes well with rice and porridge, making it a great side dish to have as well.

1. Wash the cabbage and cut into chunks.
2. Wash the mushroom and soak in hot water for 15 mins until it is soft. Wash, squeeze dry the mushroomand cut into half.
3. Soak the black cloud fungus, black wooden ear fungus, tang hoon and golden needle in separate bowls of tap water for about 15 mins or until the fungus doubles in the size.
4. Tear off the hard part of the wooden ear fungus and discard. Then cut rest of the wooden ear fungus into chunks.
5. Wash the golden needle,pluck off the hard endand tie a knot.
6. Remove the skin of the garlic and chop coarsely.
7. Cut the mock goose into 2cm squares.
8. Take out 3 square pieces of red fermented bean curd, including some of the red wine in the jar. Use the back of the spoon to mash*t up.
9. In a wok, add 100 ml oil and turn heat to medium. When the oil starts to bubble, deep fry the mock goose, a few pieces at a time.
10. Once it’s golden brown, remove and place on paper towel to absorb excess oil. Repeat the process until all the mock goose pieces are done. Once cool, place them in an air-tight container for later use.
11. Pour out the oil from wok leaving behind3 TBsp of oil. Turn the heat up to high.
12. Add in fermented red bean curd and garlic andfry for a few seconds until aromatic.
13. Add in the cabbage and stirfry, then add in 1 TBsp of oyster sauce and mix well.
14. Add the mushrooms, black fungus, wooden ear fungus and gingko nut. Stir until well mixed.
15. Pour in 250 ml chicken stock and 250 ml of water to it and mix well. Cover the wok and continue to cook for about40mins over medium low heat.
16. Lastly, add in thegolden needle and tang hoon and continue to cook for another 10 mins.
17. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with crispy mock goose before serving

1. Use the flattish looking cabbageover the round-as-a-ball round cabbage when buying round cabbage for chap chye as the round ones are much softer and will turn limp before they canabsorb the gravy.

1. Turn the heat down to medium low as it gets burnt easily when frying the mock goose.
2. Do not add the mock goose tothe cooked chap chye until you are ready to serve. Otherwise, it will not be crispy.
3. Cook this dish the day before. This allows the vegetables to soak in and absorb the gravy, making it more tasty.
4. Braise the chap chyefor a longer time if you prefer it softer. For the Cantonese, the texture is almost likemelting in your mouth. If you prefer amore crunchy texture, 35 mins of cooking timeshould be good.
5. Tang Hoon should be added lastas it turns soft very easily. It alsoabsorbs lots of gravy, making it too soggy while making the chap chye toodry.
6. Do not cook the golden needle for too long or it will lose its crunchiness.

• Egg-Free: No modifications needed.
• Fish-Free: No modifications needed.
• Nut-Free:No modifications needed.
• Shellfish-Free:No modifications needed.
• Vegan: Replace chicken stock with vegetable stock; replace oyster sauce with mushroom sauce.
• Vegetarian: Replace chicken stock with vegetable stock; replace oyster sauce with mushroom sauce.

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