Babaocai contains seafood such as sea cucumbers, shrimp, squid, and vegetables such as bamboo shoots.

[1] The ingredients are chopped and stir-fried in a wok or pan, and the dish is seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil.

[2][3][4] The dish is known as palbochae (팔보채) in Korean and as happosai in Japanese.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty of China, the Mok Jung Emperor's birth mother was a renowned gourmet known to order 120 kinds of side dishes.

Another theory is that in the 11th century, farmers in Liaoning province began to eat various foods they once ate with tea while chatting during work breaks.