Jiucai hezi
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-cropped.jpg) Pan-fried jiucai hezi at a restaurant in Chongwenmen | |
| Place of origin | China |
|---|---|
| Region or state | Shandong |
| Main ingredients | Garlic chives, egg, cellophane noodles, wheat flour |
| Jiucai hezi | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 韭菜盒子 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 韭菜合子 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | chive box | ||||||
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Jiucai hezi (Chinese: 韭菜盒子 "chive box"), also called chive pockets, are a type of savory pie originating from Shandong, China. They are made of Chinese chives and eggs in a flour wrapper, then pan fried or baked. Jiucai hezi are traditionally eaten to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
Description
[edit]The dough is made from flour and water, with leavened and unleavened varieties. The stuffing typically includes chopped garlic chives, scrambled eggs,[1] sauteed mini-shrimp and cellophane noodles. Mushrooms and wood ear fungus are sometimes included. There is also a variety with minced meat as stuffing.[2] The stuffing will be put in the middle of a flat dough, and then folded into half-moon shape. The finished turnover is usually pan-fried instead of baked in the oven like a turnover, and is served with black rice vinegar and sesame oil mixture as dip.
Gallery
[edit]-
With sesame -
Stuffing inside -
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In popular culture
[edit]On February 14, 2022, during the second qualifying round of the freestyle skiing women's slopestyle event at the 2022 Winter Olympics, skier Eileen Gu was seen munching on a Chinese chive pocket (jiǔcài hézi) from a plastic bag while awaiting her score. In a later interview, Gu confirmed that the pastry was indeed a chive pocket.[3] The moment went viral across China. According to Meituan data, online searches for "jiucai hezi" surged by over 161% in the week following Gu's mention, with takeaway orders exceeding 1.6 million — a 93% year-on-year increase.[4] Furthermore, China Food Press reported that the post-Olympics surge in chive pocket sales reflected this viral trend, with searches and orders spiking noticeably.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Chinese chive pockets (韭菜盒子) – Red House Spice July 10, 2017, Retrieved on September 16, 2017
- ^ Chinese Chive Pie (Leek Pie, Garlic Chive Pie, Chinese Chive Box, 韭菜盒子) - Tiny Urban Kitchen February 6, 2014, Retrieved on September 16, 2017
- ^ James Pratt; Ed Knowles (2022-02-14). "Ailing (Eileen) Gu goes viral having lunch during qualifying". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 2022-06-14. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Liu Xiaolin (2022-02-16). "Chinese cuisine scales new highs as Olympic athletes savor dishes" [中国美食在冬奥会上备受青睐，运动员尽享美味]. 上海热线. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
- ^ "Jiucai Hezi sales up 45% following Eileen Gu's mention". China Food Press. 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
