Last Updated on December 29, 2020 by Simon Fan
Chinese olive vegetable is a unique condiment from the Chaoshan area (潮汕), whose cuisine is distinct and enchanting, and arguably one of the best in China.
Called gan lan cai (橄榄菜) in Mandarin, olive vegetable is made by cooking locally grown fresh olives and mustard greens for hours with oil, salt, and soy sauce, along with other aromatics and seasonings. The result is a dark and glistening concoction that’s intensely aromatic with a hint of olive, and tastes savory and salty with sweet and bitter undertones. You can find olive vegetable in a plastic or glass jar at most Chinese grocery stores or online.
Chaoshan locals like to use their olive vegetable as a relish with plain rice congee, or as a flavor boost to stir-fried vegetables and fried rice. Being a versatile condiment, it works wonders in meat and seafood dishes as well.
The dish I’m sharing with you here is one of my favorite ways of using olive vegetable—it adds a distinct personality to the steamed fish, setting it apart from other Chinese fish dishes you’ve tasted. To further accentuate the olive flavor, I finish the dish with extra virgin olive oil, not something typically used in Chinese cooking but makes perfect sense here.
This dish somehow reminds me of the beloved Provençal fish dish topped with tapenade, a wonderful condiment made with finely-chopped olives, capers, and anchovies.
Steamed fish with olive vegetable (橄榄菜蒸鱼)
Serves 2
Ingredients
1-inch (2.5 cm) piece of ginger
2 tablespoons Chinese olive vegetable (橄榄菜)
1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
Freshly ground white pepper
8 oz (230 g) fillet of grey sole or another white fish of your choice
2 scallions, white parts cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) lengths and green parts thinly sliced
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Directions
- Grate the ginger, squeeze out its juice into a small bowl, and discard the solids.
- Remove any pits from the olive vegetable, and chop it coarsely. Add it to the small bowl with the ginger juice. Add the wine and a few grinds of pepper, and stir to mix well.
- Cut the fillet into 2 equal portions. Spread the olive vegetable mixture over both sides of the fillets. Place them in a heatproof plate, and scatter the scallion whites on top.
- Steam the fish over high heat until it’s just cooked through (when the flesh turns opaque and flakes easily), about 5 minutes.
- Transfer the fish to a serving plate and discard the scallion whites. Adjust the seasoning as needed. Garnish with the scallion greens and drizzle the olive oil on top. Serve right away.
