Our Vegetables of China card deck is a set of 52 pocket-sized cards, each depicting a classic Chinese vegetable: leafy greens, legumes, aromatics, aquatic plants, roots, gourds, fungi, edible flowers. The back of the cards spell out how these ingredients are traditionally eaten in China and include tips for home cooks on how to make the most of each vegetable’s unique shape, texture, flavors and nutritional content. Think of this colorful deck as a delightfully portable vegetable dictionary of the plant-based diet that has kept Chinese civilization humming for centuries.

Press

• “Vegetables of China Trading-card Deck is a Chinese Grocery Demystifier,” The Takeout

• “10 Fabulous Foodie Gifts,” The Chicago Tribune

• “Learn While Playing With These Gorgeous Chinese Vegetable Illustration Cards,” Time Out Beijing

Who are these cards for?

Anyone who wants to expand their culinary vocabulary or understand the building blocks of Chinese cuisine.

• Have you ever stepped in the produce section of a Chinese supermarket and felt swamped by the unfamiliar stalks and fronds and tendrils and sprouts?

• Are you a bit bored with your regular supermarket produce and looking to jazz up your kitchen repertoire?

• Have you been wondering how to eat healthier without sacrificing flavor?

• Are you looking to deepen your connection with the Chinese food you already know and love?

• Does the idea of hand-drawn vegetables paired with deep cultural knowledge make your heart race?

Whether you're a wok wizard or a curious newcomer to the wide world of Chinese cooking, this deck will guide you through a colorful bounty of nutrient-dense whole foods and a paradigm of food therapy that has been tested over millennia.

What can I expect to find on each card?

• A gorgeous illustration

• The most common English and Chinese names of the vegetable

• Nutritional highlights

• Tips on selection and storage

• Cooking tips

• A fun and often hilarious fact – anything from Confucian food lore to cutting-edge culinary trends from the Chinese mainland

How do I use the cards?

These vegetables are eager to make your acquaintance. So why not make a game out of getting to know them all? Here's a few suggestions for how to play with these cards:

• Dinner Challenge Deal out 3 cards at random. Your challenge is to purchase them all on your next market run, and to cook them all within a single meal.

• Potluck Challenge Organize a potluck dinner party and deal out 3 cards at random to each invitee. Their challenge is to use all 3 vegetables in a single dish.

• Kids’ Grocery Scavenger Hunt Turn supermarket shopping into a game by challenging kids to match the vegetable drawings with the actual produce. Kids who participate in grocery shopping and kitchen prep are more likely to eat their veggies!

• Veg of the Week Embark on a journey of culinary experimentation by trying out one new vegetable every week for a year.