In some versions, many of the ingredients are meant to come out crunchy, with distinguishable, chunky individual ingredients. Other versions have a softer texture, with the ingredients more “melted” into one another.
Typical ingredients drawn on by chow-chow recipes can include beans, bell peppers (red or green), cabbage, carrots, cucumber, corn kernels, cauliflower, onions, tomatoes (green and red), peas, etc.
The use of cabbage is more common in some parts of the southern US than it is in other parts of the US or of the world. In the American south, the primary base ingredients usually found are cabbage, onion, tomato and peppers.