Like radish, leaf mustard is another vegetable grown by Hakka people while rice paddies are left fallow. Hakka people use their proficient pickle skill to pickle leaf mustard, making many famous Hakka specialties out of it. Most people cannot tell the difference between Suancai, Fucai, and Meigancai. Their difference lies in the degree of dryness.
Add salt to leaf mustard, tread out water and put it in a jar to ferment, it becomes Suancai. Put it under the sun for several days, it becomes Fucai. If it its put under the sun until the water is all gone, it becomes Meigancai.
Other pickles such as gourds, fishes, bean curd, pineapple sauce, and fermented beans are also commonly-seen Hakka dishes. They can be made into soups, stir-fried and placed in lunch boxes. In addition to being a seasoning, red yeast has become a popular health food able to lower blood pressure and cholesterol.