Zha cai ([ʈʂâ tsʰâɪ]; 榨菜), also romanized as Cha tsai, is a type of pickled mustard plant stem originating from Chongqing, China.

[1] The pickle is made from the knobbly, fist-sized, swollen green stem of Brassica juncea, subspecies tsatsai.

The stem is first salted and pressed, and dried before being rubbed with hot red chili paste and allowed to ferment in an earthenware jar.

Considered to be rich in umami, zha cai varies in spiciness depending on the amount of chili paste used in preparation.

[7] Zha cai is also an ingredient of ci fan tuan, a popular dish in Shanghai cuisine.