Dry goods & condiments
Chinese Olive Vegetable
A dark jarred preserved-vegetable condiment classified by Hong Kong CFS as cooked green olives and fermented vegetables; ingredients and oil content vary by label.
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3 identity clues
- Dark finely chopped vegetable mixture
- Moist or oily texture
- Jarred product with ingredient label
Names in other languages
- 繁體中文
- 欖菜
- English
- Chinese Olive Vegetable
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Chinese Olive Vegetable (欖菜)
- Tagalog
- Chinese Olive Vegetable (欖菜)
What is it?
A dark jarred preserved-vegetable condiment; common formulas contain mustard greens, Chinese olive and oil, but ingredients vary by label.
How to identify it
Usually a dark green-brown to almost black, finely chopped, moist or oily mixture in a jar; it is not a jar of whole table olives.
Common Hong Kong household uses
Served with congee or used in fried rice, stir-fried green beans, steamed dishes and seasoning.
Choosing & preparing
Use a clean dry utensil and add a small amount first. Taste before adding salt and follow the label on whether heating is needed.
Storage
Follow the label; after opening reseal and refrigerate when directed. Keep wet spoons out.
Helper tip
欖菜 is not whole olives. Vegetable, olive, oil, seasoning and allergen content varies by brand, so read the ingredient list.
What Ma’am or Sir may say
買樽欖菜，係深色碎菜嗰種。Buy the dark finely chopped jarred condiment, not whole olives.
Useful market phrase
唔該，呢樽係欖菜嗎？Meaning: Excuse me, is this jar preserved olive vegetable?
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