A Recipe, A Memory Carol Chen Yan Du Xian
● 200g pork belly ● 125g fresh spring bamboo shoot ● 200g salty pork ● 100g tofu skin knots ● 10g scallion ● 5g Huadiao wine ● 4g salt ● 5g ginger There: In March, after the spring rain falls on the bamboo forests of Jiangnan, Spring bamboo peeps out from the ground to greet the world. Peeling away the outer layers reveals the tender, crunchy shoots. The star of the yan du xian soup is spring bamboo, chun shun. To me, every bite tastes of spring. Memories of my family and I digging for these in forests are to be cherished forever. Here: On Saturdays, in Chinatown, the supermarkets are packed. My mom is craving a taste of home, yan du xian. Somehow, hearing her say it in Shanghainese makes the soup sound even better. The closest we can find to chun shun are canned bamboo shoots With brine that has a chemical taste. Yet it’s close enough for us to feel as though we are back home. ~~~ Da Zha Xie Nian Gao ● 6 Chinese mitten crab ● 450g rice cake ● 10g flour ● 5g ginger ● 5g scallion ● 3g garlic ● 15g white wine ● 25g soy sauce ● 15g sugar ● 1 pinch of black pepper There: We visit the local farmers market every weekend and buy the da zha xie, mitten crabs. They are feisty and filled with orange tomalley, perfect for xie nian gao, crab rice cakes. I hate seeing them get split in half and coated in flour, but I forget about it at the first bite. Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, the rice cakes soak in the flavor of the tomalley. I remember my grandmother rolling out the logs of rice cake on a wooden cutting board, Cutting them into slanted, fingertip-thick slices, ready to be fried. Here: The best substitutes we can find for da zha xie are blue crabs, A dozen for twelve from the local fish markets. Blue crabs taste of the salty ocean, giving the dish a new depth of flavor. The best nian gao are the frozen kind which still have chewy centers. The sauce, made from the tomalley, is thick and pungent, Filling our kitchen with the scent of Shanghai. ~~~ Xun Yu ● 500g buffalo carp ● 30g soy sauce ● 10g scallion ● 25g star anise ● 10g ginger ● 15g salt ● 40g sugar ● 25g brown sugar ● 20g five-spice powder ● 20g yellow wine ● 20g fennel seed There: Whenever I go to the fish markets in China with my grandparents, I see rows of shiny, vibrantly colored fish. The carp is large, about half an arm long. My grandparents buy a few slices and then head home. After air-drying the fish on the balcony, it becomes a perfect snack on a hot summer day. Chewy, savory, and sweet, the taste lingers in my mouth long after I finish my plate. My family likes to fight for these juicy pieces of fish. Here: My grandfather is visiting and he decides to buy a stand fan. He uses this to dry the yu after he has rubbed the pieces with the spice mix. At first, the yu smells fishy, but soon it soaks in the spices. After a day of marinating and fan drying, the fish is ready to be fried. I love standing next to the pan to watch the oil pop and sizzle under the pieces of fish, Though I make sure not to stand too close in case I burn myself.
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