At the table
Take cooked pieces from the shared pot into your own bowl with serving utensils. Use chopsticks for vegetables and a spoon for noodles and liquid; let hot bites cool. Peanuts are served separately in this version.
Contains soy, peanuts and sesame; soy sauce may contain wheat. Celery is also present. Confirm ingredients for allergies, and take care with the hot pot and slippery noodles.
This version includes chard, water celery, fresh rakkyo, black-soybean sprouts, shiitake, wood-ear, dried daylily buds, yuba sticks, pressed tofu, glass noodles and traditional fat choy, with fried peanuts alongside. Family versions differ; substitutes for fat choy need their own ingredient check.
GET TO KNOW THE DISH
What goes into it?
Explore some key ingredients below. Preparations may use additional seasonings and ingredients.
This version includes chard, water celery, fresh rakkyo, black-soybean sprouts, shiitake, wood-ear, dried daylily buds, yuba sticks, pressed tofu, glass noodles and traditional fat choy, with fried peanuts alongside. Family versions differ; substitutes for fat choy need their own ingredient check.
Typical ingredients
Wood-ear fungus木耳
Glass noodles粉丝
Dried daylily buds干黄花菜
Shiitake mushroom香菇
Soybean sprouts黄豆芽
Water celery (Oenanthe javanica)水芹
Dried tofu豆腐干
Peanuts花生
Chard (leaf beet)叶甜菜（莙荙菜）
Dried tofu-skin sticks (fuzhu)腐竹
Fresh rakkyo (Chinese onion)鲜藠头（荞头）
Fat choy (Nostoc flagelliforme)发菜
Monosodium glutamate (MSG)味精
Soy sauce醬油
Sesame oil香油
Peanut oil花生油Recipes vary by restaurant.
How does it taste?
Savory soy and shiitake notes with aromatic celery, rakkyo and sesame oil.
- Chili heat
- Texture
- Soft greens and slippery noodles contrast with springy wood-ear, layered yuba and firm tofu strips.
- How it’s made
- Dried ingredients are soaked and cooked; vegetables are briefly stir-fried and pressed-tofu strips lightly fried. They finish together in water seasoned with light and dark soy sauce, MSG, sesame oil and peanut oil.
This version includes chard, water celery, fresh rakkyo, black-soybean sprouts, shiitake, wood-ear, dried daylily buds, yuba sticks, pressed tofu, glass noodles and traditional fat choy, with fried peanuts alongside. Family versions differ; substitutes for fat choy need their own ingredient check.
A CONNECTION TO PLACE
Origin & regional roots
Associated with Hainan.
About this regional connection
Hainan: HaikouandQiongshan context; selectedrecipe.
Ask if they have it first
请问你们有海口斋菜煲吗？
Do you have this item?
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO READ
Story & history
A New Year vegetable pot
This account describes a tradition or story, rather than an established historical fact.
In Haikou and nearby Qiongshan, eating zhai vegetables is part of Lunar New Year tradition. The claypot brings several prepared vegetables together while keeping their different textures and colours. Its composition varies between households.