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Glite Dictionary
kiam chye

kiam chye

9.9
A type of salted mustard greens used in Chinese cooking in Southeast Asia
  • noun
: kiam chye
  • At the hawker stall, I ordered rice with braised pork and kiam chye.

Examples

  • My grandmother often uses kiam chye when making fish head soup.

  • The chef added kiam chye to the soup for an extra tangy taste.

  • I love adding kiam chye to my fried rice.

  • Have you ever tried kiam chye with noodles?

  • I love adding kiam chye to my fried rice for added flavor.

  • At the hawker stall, I ordered rice with braised pork and kiam chye.

  • My grandmother often uses kiam chye when making fish head soup.

How Salty

kiam chye
9.9

Surface Forms

kiam chye singular
kiam chyes plural

Morphology

kiam + chye

This is a lexicalized loanword (from Southern Chinese dialects) for a specific preserved mustard green; the constituents 'kiam' and 'chye' are not English lexical items with transparent meanings. A B1 learner who knows English vocabulary would not be able to derive the referent or culinary meaning from these parts, and the term is culture-specific, so prior exposure or explanation is required.

Etymology

Kiam chye comes from southern Chinese words: kiam meaning 'salt' and chye meaning 'vegetable'. It originally named mustard greens that were salted and stored to keep them, and that's why it means a 'salted, preserved' leafy vegetable used to add tang to soups and rice today.