Jujube: The Red Dates at the Heart of the Chinese Kitchen

If you've followed any of our recipes, you'll have noticed the same ingredient appearing again and again. Jujubes, or Chinese red dates, turn up in congee, in soups, in hot pot bases, in broths and in teas. There's a reason for that ubiquity: they're one of the most useful ingredients in the Chinese store cupboard, doing a job no other ingredient quite does. Here's what they actually are, why they're in everything, and how to use them properly.

They Aren't Dates

Let's clear this up first, because the English name is misleading. Jujubes come from Ziziphus jujuba, a small tree in the buckthorn family, and they have no botanical relationship to the Medjool or Deglet Nour dates that grow on palm trees in the Middle East and North Africa. Two completely different plants that ended up sharing a word in English.

The difference is obvious once you taste them. Where a Medjool date is intensely sweet, sticky and almost caramel-like, a dried jujube is milder, drier and more apple-like, with a gentle sweetness and a slightly chewy skin. Fresh jujubes, which you'll occasionally find in Chinese supermarkets in autumn, are crisp and taste rather like a small, mildly sweet apple.

In Chinese they're hong zao, red dates. The larger grade, da hong zao, is prized for soups where the fruit itself will be eaten.

Why They're in Everything

Jujubes do a specific and useful job: they sweeten and round out a dish without making it taste sweet, and they soften the harder edges of other ingredients.

This matters enormously in Chinese herbal cooking, where many of the dried roots and barks used are earthy, woody or frankly medicinal-tasting on their own. Add a few jujubes to the pot and the whole thing becomes considerably more pleasant to drink or eat, without anyone reaching for sugar. That's why they appear alongside astragalus, angelica root and the rest in almost every traditional soup: they're the ingredient that makes the others palatable.

In traditional Chinese thinking they carry their own classification too, associated with nourishing the Blood and with harmonising a formula, which is essentially the same observation expressed in the tradition's own vocabulary.

How to Use Them

Tear or score them first. This is the tip that makes the difference. Dried jujubes have fairly tough skins, and dropping them in whole means much of the sweetness stays locked inside. Tear each one open with your fingers, or cut a few slashes in the skin, before adding them to the pot. The flavour release is noticeably better.

Mind the stone. Jujubes contain a hard, pointed stone. Some people remove them before cooking, most don't bother, but warn anyone eating the dish, particularly children.

Add them early. Unlike goji berries, which go in at the end, jujubes want time. Add them at the start of a soup or braise and let them soften over the full cooking period.

How many? Six to eight for a family-sized pot is typical. They're a background ingredient, and a dozen in a small pot will make things noticeably sweet.

Red Date and Ginger Tea

The simplest way to get to know them, and a genuine everyday drink in Chinese households rather than a special preparation.

For two mugs: 8 jujube dates, torn open, 3 or 4 slices of dried ginger, and 600ml of water. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 20 minutes with the lid on. Strain into mugs and drink warm, eating the softened dates afterwards if you like. Some households add brown sugar; most don't need to.

The result is a mild, warming, naturally sweet drink with no caffeine. A small handful of goji berries added in the last few minutes gives it colour and a light tartness.

Everywhere Else They Belong

Once you have a bag open, they go into most things. In congee, they provide the sweetness that means you don't need to add any. In a herbal bone broth or any long-simmered soup, they balance the richness of the bones. In a hot pot base they round out the broth. They're also used in braises with pork or chicken, cooked into rice, and in desserts, most famously steamed and stuffed with glutinous rice.

For anyone cooking these dishes regularly, the 1kg bag of large jujubes works out considerably better value than buying small quantities repeatedly, and they keep well.

Buying and Storing

Good dried jujubes should be plump, deeply red-brown, and give slightly when squeezed. Ones that are hard, dull, shrivelled or dusty-looking are old and will contribute little. Some white bloom on the surface is normal and harmless.

You may also see black jujubes, hei zao. These are the same fruit, smoked or steamed during processing, giving a darker colour and a deeper, slightly smokier flavour. They're used somewhat differently in traditional cooking but are not a lower grade of the same thing.

Stored airtight in a cool, dark cupboard, jujubes keep for a year or more. In a warm kitchen they can dry out and harden, so an airtight container genuinely matters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are jujubes the same as dates?

No. Jujubes come from Ziziphus jujuba, an unrelated plant to the palm-grown dates sold in supermarkets. They're milder, drier and more apple-like.

Do I need to remove the stones?

Not necessarily, most cooks leave them in and warn people at the table. Remove them if you're cooking for children.

Why tear the dates before cooking?

The skins are tough, and tearing or scoring them lets the sweetness release into the liquid properly rather than staying inside the fruit.

What's the difference between red and black jujubes?

They're the same fruit processed differently. Black jujubes are smoked or steamed, giving a darker colour and a deeper, smokier flavour.

How many should I use?

Six to eight for a family-sized pot is a good starting point. They're meant to sit in the background rather than dominate.

Can you eat jujubes on their own?

Yes, dried jujubes are perfectly pleasant eaten as they are, mild and lightly sweet. They're just more useful in the pot.

Find jujubes alongside the ginger, goji berries and herbs they belong with in our DaoDi culinary herbs collection.

Food supplements and culinary herbs should not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet. This article is for general information only and is not intended as medical advice.