Chinese Olive Vegetable, Yard Long Beans and Tofu

Stir fried yard long beans with Chinese olive vegetables is a classic dish that goes perfectly with rice for a quick and easy meal. Chinese olive vegetable is an umami-packed condiment that can be used in stir fries or as a salty topping to congee or noodles. Keep an eye out for it the next time you’re at the Chinese grocery store!

What is Chinese olive vegetable and where can I find it?

Chinese olive vegetable (橄榄菜) is a condiment made from Chinese olives and mustard greens preserved in oil. It comes in preserve jars and from the outside the condiment looks black and shiny. Once you take it out and spread it around (whether in stir fries, or with rice,) you’ll find that the preserved olive vegetable is in fact, a very intense dark green.

As for taste: it’s salty, it’s greasy, it’s umami. Before reading up on Chinese olive vegetable I had thought that it was made from black olives (like you would find in the Mediterranean) since they look and taste somewhat similar (not to mention, they have the same name!) Turns out, Chinese olive (also known as white olive) is unrelated to the Mediterannean olive.

To make the preserve labeled as “Chinese olive vegetable”, Chinese olive and mustard greens are shredded and boiled together, then preserved in oil and salt.

Where to find Chinese olive vegetable at the grocery store

You’ll likely be able to find Chinese olive vegetable at any Chinese supermarket or grocery store with a large Chinese pantry selection.

Chinese olive vegetable will likely be in the same aisle as other condiments like Chinese pickles and fermented bean curd (腐乳). It could also be close to the jars of sauces and chili oils.

Different labeling systems

Another tip, sometimes it is hard to find a “best before” date for Chinese sauces and condiments. Instead, the date you will find on the label is often the date of manufacture. On the jar, you will also find the “shelf life” (保质期). For instance, on my jar of preserved Chinese olive vegetable, the shelf life is labeled 18 months.

From these two pieces of information, I will have to calculate whether the preserve is past its best before date. It is not uncommon to find already expired jars in the grocery store aisle due to this!

Storing Chinese olive vegetable

Once opened, Chinese olive vegetable should be stored in the fridge. The condiment can go rancid rather quickly due to its high fat content.

Using Chinese olive vegetable

The most common dish to make with Chinese olive vegetable is the one shared here, that is stir fried with yard long beans or some other kind of green beans.

You can also add Chinese olive vegetable to fried rice, noodles, other stir fries, or have it with congee.

Variations

• Make it spicy! Add 1-2 chopped red chili peppers with the garlic.
• Use another protein. This olive paste green bean dish is most commonly stir-fried with ground pork, but really any kind of protein works. Choose something with a minced texture to keep the dish spoonable.
• Can’t find yard long beans? Use another kind of beans: green beans, flat green beans, string beans – you get the idea!

Recipe Card

Print Recipe

Chinese Olive Vegetable Stir Fry with Yard Long Beans

Stir fried yard long beans with Chinese olive vegetables is a classic dish that goes perfectly with rice for a quick and easy meal.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Stir-fry

Cuisine: Chinese

Diet: Low Lactose, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: Chinese, Condiment, Green Beans, One Pot/Pan, Quick, Stir-fry, Tofu

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 250 g crumbled extra firm tofu or ground meat around ½ pound
• 1 bundle yard long beans around 1 pound
• 2 tablespoons Chinese olive vegetable 橄榄菜 or more to taste
• 3-5 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon oil

Instructions

• Trim the yard long beans and chop into 1 cm long pieces.
• Heat the oil in a pan or wok, then fry the garlic until fragrant. Add your protein and stir fry until cooked through (1-2 minutes).
• Add the chopped yard long beans and stir fry for another minute or so, then add the Chinese olive vegetable and stir fry for another minute or so, making sure to separate the strands and mixing well with the beans and protein. When done, the Chinese olive vegetable strands should be evenly distributed, and the beans should be cooked through.
• Serve with rice.

Video

@hellenshouse

Have you ever had Chinese olive vegetable? It’s made from olives and mustard greens (芥菜), which are salted and preserved in oil. the best way to use Chinese olive vegetable is stir fried with some long string beans aka yard long beans and lots of garlic. The traditional or typical dish combines ground meat (usually ground pork) and diced string beans. For a veggie version, I’m using crumbled extra firm tofu. Simply stir fry your protein and beans with a lot of garlic, then add the olive paste and stir fry some more, and you’ll have this really spoonable, umami-packed dish that goes super well with rice for an easy, balanced meal. Full recipe and tips on my website. #chinesefood #condiment #stirfry #recipe #yardlongbeans #onepanmeal

♬ original sound – Hellen Chan – Hellen Chan