Also known as "Dong Bei" (Dong = East, Bei = North in Mandarin) cuisine, the food of Northern China relies heavily on preserved foods and hearty fare due to the harsh winters and relatively short growing seasons. Pickling is a very common form of food preservation and pickled cabbage is traditionally made by most households in giant clay pickling vats. Unlike the South of China, noodles tend to be the most common form of starch rather than rice. Popular dishes include pork and chive dumplings, cumin & caraway lamb, congee, tealeaf stewed hardboiled eggs, congee with several types of pickles (mustard root is highly popular), and cornmeal congee.