Jiucai hezi
Type of Chinese savory pocket pie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 garlic chives and eggs in a flour wrapper, then pan fried or baked. Jiucai hezi are traditionally eaten to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
-cropped.jpg) Pan-fried jiucai hezi at a restaurant in Chongwenmen | |
| Place of origin | China |
|---|---|
| Region or state | Shandong |
| Main ingredients | Garlic chives, egg, glass 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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Description
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 glass 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
Stuffing inside
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In popular culture
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]