Gourmand vol 5

VOL.005 September 2017

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MOONCAKE FESTIVAL FOLK’S MOONCAKE – THE TASTE OF HOME MOONCAKE: NANJING STYLE, SUZHOU STYLE & HANGZHOU STYLE

THE IRRESISTIBLE CHARM OF CHILIES QIAN CHILI–THE HOTTEST IN CHINA SICHUAN CHILI–SICHUAN PEOPLE’S PASSION ON SPICY FOOD XIANG CHILI –GO WITH THE FLOW

WONTON THE UNCHANGING TASTE IN CHANGING YEARS

HOW TO TREAT YOUR BODY WITH PROPER FOOD IN AUTUMN? THE BIG FAMILY OF CHINESE YAMS AUTUMN MENU

SCAN WITH WECHAT FOR GUIDE

Home Serial Number: CN32-1379/TS International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): ISSN 1005-0345 PRICE: ￡3 Postal code for distribution: 28-169

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GOURMAND GOURMAND CHINESE EDITION ESTABLISHED ON JANUARY 1989 FIRST PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH ON 5TH JULY 2016

COPY RIGHT OWNER: SOHO Holdings Group Co. Ltd, Jiangsu PUBLISHER: SOHO Media Company Limited, Jiangsu.

CO-ORGANIZING UNITS: Jiangsu Cuisine Association

CONTENTS 02 FOLK’S MOONCAKE The Taste of Home Nanjing Style, Suzhou style & Hangzhou style

12 THE IRRESISTIBLE

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Jiangsu Nutrition Society SECRETARIAT: Liang Yue EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Min Zhou

CHARM OF CHILIES

ART DIRECTOR: Chao Wang

Qian Chili–The Hottest in China

EDITOR: Xinyue Hu

Sichuan Chili–Sichuan People’s Passion on Spicy Food Xiang Chili –Go with the Flow

24 THE UNCHANGING TASTE IN CHANGING YEARS Wonton

29 HOW TO TREAT YOUR BODY WITH PROPER FOOD IN AUTUMN?

The Big Family of Chinese Yams Autumn Menu

TRANSLATOR: Shella Chen PHOTOGRAPHER: Xiaoli Cheng, Guo Chen ART EDITOR: Naiqiang Wu, Ace Xie NEW MEDIA EDITOR: Chunhui Li HOME ISSUE UNIT: Jiangsu Bureau of Newspaper Distribution

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Folk’ s Mooncake - The Taste of Home

FOLK’S MOONCAKE – THE TASTE OF HOME

Folk’ s Mooncake - The Taste of Home

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4th October 2017, which is also the 15th of August in lunar calendar, is one of the traditional Chinese festivals –Mid Autumn Festival.

It is said that during Tang dynasty, General Li Jing came back from a victorious battle against one of the minority tribes on Mid Autumn Festival.

At that time the merchants in Xinjiang area presented some cakes to the Emperor as a celebration of the victory.

Emperor Li Yuan took out the round shaped cake from its glorious case, smiled and pointed to the moon saying, “We should invite the moon to share the cake with us.” Then he invited his officials to share the cake together, which later became the tradition –eating cakes on Mid Autumn Festival. Such tradition was not recoded until in a book written in Ming dynasty, “15th of August is called Mid Autumn, the folks celebrate it with mooncakes as a symbol of family reunion”. More records about mooncakes started to appear since Qing dynasty, and the making of mooncakes became more and more delicate.

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Folk’ s Mooncake - The Taste of Home

Folk’ s Mooncake - The Taste of Home

In terms of the production of mooncakes, different districts have their own methods, which in result offer a variety of tastes. It’s the taste of home, which brings out our memories as a child. It’s the taste made by hand instead of cold machine that warms up every Mid Autumn spent.

DIFFERENCE AMONG MOONCAKES MADE FROM THE NORTH, SUZHOU REGION AND CANTON AREA Beijing-style mooncakes is the representative of northern mooncakes. First of all, the pastry is made differently among the three regions. The northern mooncakes have hard pastry which is made from sugar water. Canton mooncakes use sugar syrup to make the pastry, with a different ratio of sugar and specific method of cooking sugar as well. Beijing-style mooncakes can be in red or white colors. When making the red colored mooncakes, black sugar will be added into the dough and hot water is used for kneading the dough. The pastry tastes firm but flakey, which is different from the soft Canton style mooncakes. Suzhou mooncakes, on the other hand, are classic puffy ones with a very different method in pastry making.

In terms of the stuffing inside, take the “Nuts Mooncake” as an example, the Canton style will have olive seeds in it, while the North will replace it with pine seeds.

Furthermore, as part of the stuffing the North will also put green and red colored shredded vegetables or orange peel, rock sugar and sesame oil, which normally won’t be the case with the South. Another difference is that the North use flour to mix with the stuffing, while the South will use cooked glutinous rice flour to do the job.

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Folk’ s Mooncake - The Taste of Home

HOW TO VIEW THE

“MODERN MOONCAKE” AND

“FOLK’S MOONCAKE” PROPERLY? There are many types of mooncakes available on the market nowadays. Some made using western method taste more like snacks than mooncakes.

The folk’s mooncake, refer to the ones full of local features and made using traditional techniques.

SUZHOU Mooncake with Meat Stuffing “Delicate as the moon, is the small mooncake, puffy and tasty.” --Su Dongpo from Tang Dynasty Suzhou style mooncakes are known for their flaky and crispy pastry which will break down o nothing in one’s mouth. In a poem written by

Poet Su Dongpo in Tang dynastry, “Delicate as the moon, is the small mooncake, puffy and tasty.” This refers exactly to the Suzhou style mooncake. Different from Canton and Beijing styles, Suzhou style mooncake has its own characteristics. Its pastry is thin as paper, which will melt immediately within a bite. Despite the many layers, the pasty is puffy yet not falling apart. Coupling with the carefully made stuffing, each bite is a taste of pleasure.

Usually Suzhou style mooncakes have sweet stuffing and the only savory choice is meat stuffing, which is no less tasty than the others

Folk’ s Mooncake - The Taste of Home

in any way. Entirely made of meat, the stuffing marries well with the pastry with the juice from the former slightly goes into the later.

The meat mooncakes made by Wu Jiang Hotel in Suzhou are very small in size, about half the size of the ones on market. The pastry has two layers, with the one on the outside puffed up with oil in order to achieve both the taste and the appearance. One downside though is that one cannot have too many without feeling bloated. To get a better judgment of the size, the pastry chef tried many different sizes and had people taste them one by one, until

the current size was decided to be the most suitable.

The meat mooncakes have to be handmade, and monitored by experienced chefs, from the selection of flour, the kneading, choice of stuffing and its making, to the final step of setting the mold. Even after the shape is set, it still needs to be pan-fried and baked, which also has to rely on people for time control.

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Folk’ s Mooncake - The Taste of Home

NANJING With its name given by the Emperor Emperor Qianlong once commented, “It carries the fragrance in the moon.” Such fragrance comes from the sesame oil that was used.

When talked about the folk’s mooncake in Nanjing, the first one that comes up in one’s mind will be the “Lai Yue” mooncake made in the town of Gua Bu, Liu He county.

“Lai Yue” mooncake is handmade every year just before Mid Autumn Festival. You can tell that it’s something extraordinary just by the look of it. Covering an entire plate, each mooncake is over 10 cm in diameter and weights almost half a kilogram. When sliced open, the “Pandora box” opens to show the classic nuts stuffing, including sunflower seeds, locus seeds, almond, walnuts, sesame seeds, and the green and red colored shredded dried Chinese cabbage.

Besides its size, what’s even more special is mooncake’s pastry, which is neither Suzhou nor Canton style. Instead, it has a style of its own. Its texture and appearance are the same with another traditional Chinese desert –walnut cake. Actually, it will be reasonable to say that the ”Lai Yue” mooncake is walnut cake with a hollow pastry stuffed with classic nuts mixture of Suzhou style.

So, how to make the same pastry as of walnut cakes? There are three ingredients: wheat flour, white sugar and sesame oil, with the sesame oil being the secret of achieving the final success. The three ingredients need to be used following a certain ratio, which is in a family recipe strictly kept by Chef Wang in Gua Bu town, whose family have been making such mooncakes from generation to generation.

Folk’ s Mooncake - The Taste of Home

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Folk’ s Mooncake - The Taste of Home

HANGZHOU

CLAY OVEN OVER THIRTY YEARS AGO

Dao’s Clay Oven Baked Mooncake

Why does the clay oven mooncake taste nice? Well, the oven is the key. The authentic mooncakes from Yu Hang were all baked in the clay oven, which worked magically to bring out the flavor.

Special Memory of Mid Autumn Festival in Yuhang The clay oven baked mooncake was originally from the villages around Tang Xi area. It’s told that back then the villagers in Yuhang city didn’t want to spend money on buying mooncakes on Mid Autumn Festival, instead they decided to make it themselves using whatever ingredients available. Therefore they used bean paste, nuts, sweet potato and taro as stuffing ingredients, and made different flavored cakes baked in the clay oven. Over time people had grown to be fund of such folk’s cakes.

The mooncake chefs spent three months just to look for such a clay oven that’s able to bake mooncakes on a big scale. They visited many elders in several villages around the area and were able to find one in the end.

“This clay oven was built over thirty years ago, and is now in use again after being repaired.”

Chef Shen said. It’s almost impossible to find a second one like this. Square in shape, this oven is bigger than the ones commonly used in the households. With a quick glimpse, one may even mistake it as a wall. Each side of the “wall” has an entrance, one for the mooncakes while the other for the coal.

Folk’ s Mooncake - The Taste of Home

THE IMPRESSIVE HAND CRAFT In the cake-making industry, there is a saying, “70% of the success lies in the oven and the other 30% is the pastry.” The key is how well it’s baked. Unlike the electronic stove whose temperature can be set as needed, the clay oven depends entirely on the chef’s judgment.

When should the cakes go in the oven? Is the fire within the oven strong enough? When should more coal be added? All questions need to be taken care of seriously. Not just the oven, even the coal balls are very particular too, which are made from mixture of white charcoal, wood cuttings and mud, specifically for baking this type of mooncake.

“Use moderate heat to start with, which will allow the mooncakes to dry slowly first before baking them thoroughly.” Chef Pang is a senior staff in Dao’s factory and has been baking for over ten years. He said it takes about 15 minutes to bake

one tray of mooncakes, and the temperature is controlled mostly by himself during the whole process.

Dao’s mooncakes use different cereals such as purple potato, pumpkin and taro for stuffing ingredients. Without a sight of any machinery in the workshop, the whole producing process, from ingredients mixing, pastry rolling to stuffing filling, is all made by hand.

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The Irresistible Charm of Chilies

THE IRRESISTIBLE CHARM OF CHILIES

The Irresistible Charm of Chilies

Introduced as a type of spice to China since Ming dynasty, chili has won most Chinese people’s favor within just over four hundreds years, changing dieting habits in different regions before people even notice it.

FAMILY OF CHINESE CHILIES Millet Chili Mainly grown in Yunnan and Guizhou regions, this kind of chili is tiny in size but powerfully spicy with a faint fragrance, usually used for making dry chili, chili powder and chili oil.

Yellow Lantern Chili Anyone who has been to Hainan will be impressed with the producing process of this chili. It is strong in both spiciness and fragrance, which makes a great eating experience.

Ox Horn Chili More commonly seen in Guizhou, this chili has a long and slender body with a ox horn shaped tail. Rich in oil content, it has a mild level of hotness but strong taste.

Red Cluster Chili Bright in red color, this “meaty” chili is powerfully spicy and fragrant.

The commonly used chilies in Sichuan dishes nicknamed “bullet head” and “seven stars chili” both belong to this family.

Er Jin Tiao Chili With a long and thin body, this chili is produced from Mu Ma Shan in Shuangliu district, Chengdu. It is mildly hot but has a great smell.

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The Irresistible Charm of Chilies

黔 辣

QIAN CHILI THE HOTTEST IN CHINA

(From Guizhou Province)

The Irresistible Charm of Chilies

There is not only one way of eating chili in Guizhou. The chili can be dried, or it can taste sour and spicy. Usually the household in Guizhou will have four types of chilies including: chili powder –specifically used as dipping for meat dishes; oil cooked chili and chili sauce –to be used in noodles; pickled chili –finely chopped and used for stirfried dishes; and lastly dried chili –to be stir fried to go with the dishes.

Qian dishes have two major categories: the ethnic dishes and the folk’s dishes. Ethnic dishes, as one can imagine by the name, are dishes for minority groups. Guizhou province is home to multiple ethnic groups and each people is distinctive from each other while in the meantime share some common ground. Both difference and similarity are reflected in ethnic dishes. On the other hand, folk’s dishes emphasize a free range of tastes and unique choices of ingredients such as garland flower and mint leaves. The fact that each dish has a particular dipping sauce, and the use of many folk recipes mark the most outstand character of Qian cuisine.

Spicy but not overpowering, Qian cuisine is very tasty and has a vast selection of chilies. The chilies can be cooked in many different ways (such as in oil, pickled, with soy bean sauce etc) and each has a unique taste, which could not be found in other provinces. Guizhou cuisine emphasizes on not just having one single flavor in each dish, therefore a lot of seasoning is used to combine flavors and give each dish their own character. Seasoning is one very important step when preparing for a meal.

Ethnic dishes more often will be stewed, braised, steamed and baked, while very seldom stir fired.

“MACARONI” CHILI No one in Guizhou will not know what “macaroni” chili is, which is dried chili chopped into shapes resembling macaroni. It is commonly used in everyday dishes such as stir fried shredded pork, fried vegetable, sweet and sour locus root, and so on.

There are certain rules to keep in mind when preparing “macaroni” chili. First of all, the chili needs to be washed in whole instead of after being chopped. It should also be dried afterwards instead of being soaked in water. Served as the seasoning ingredient, “macaroni” chili not only decorates the dish nicely, but also offers itself to eaters with its delicious taste and crispy texture. It won’t survive with the rest of the dish!

BURNT CHILI POWDER Burnt chili powder can be used in various ways. More commonly it’s used in cold dishes or as dressing, for example dishes like “roots with cold dressing” and “shredded Chinese cucumber” cannot be served without such ingredient. To make the chili powder, one should first choose dried chilies that are spicy but not too spicy to lack any actual taste. Then the chilies should be baked by fire till they become crispy and burnt alternately it can be fried in a pan to achieve the same result. Ideally the chilies should be burnt only slightly, and rubbed by hands or ground in a grinder into powder when cold thoroughly.

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The Irresistible Charm of Chilies

CHICKEN FEET WITH PICKLED CHILI INGREDIENTS: Chicken feet 500g, pickled chili 1 portion, salt 1 tsp, white sugar 1tsp, white vinegar 2 tsp, Chinese alcohol 3 tsp, 5 bay leaves, 2 star anise, a small piece of cinnamon stick, Sichuan peper 10g, spring onion 10g, 6 dried chilies, ginger 10g, garlic 10g

STEPS:

1.

Wash chicken feet, trim nails, chop the feet into smaller sized and put it in a container.

2.

Pour 1 tsp of Chinese alcohol and 1 tsp of white vinegar over the feet and keep squeezing the feet till the surface turn dry and the color becomes whiter, which will give a more crispy texture.

3.

4.

Leave the feet to soak for 5 minutes, then wash it with water.

Bring water to boil in a sauce pan, put in Sichuan pepper, anise and chicken feet, pour in 1 tsp of strong alcohol to further kill the smell.

5.

6.

Turn the heat down to minimum level and allow the feet to cook slowly

Get a separate sauce pan, add water, liquid from pickled chili, anise, dried chili, cinnamon stick and bay leaves, bring the mixture to boil using moderate heat.

7.

Prepare a big bowl, add pickled chili, chopped spring onion, sliced ginger and garlic, 1 tsp of white vinegar, I tsp of Chinese alcohol, 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of white sugar into the bowl.

8.

Pour the boiled mixture over to chicken feet and toss it evenly, leave it to cool down.

9.

When the bones inside the feet start to show, feel the feet with your fingers. If it feels elastic that means the feet is cooked.

Briefly soak the feet in icy water to make the meat texture firmer and crispier.

10.

Soak the cold feet into pickled chili mixture and seal the bowl with preservative film. Keep the bowl in fridge over night and serve it the next day.

The Irresistible Charm of Chilies

BEEF SLICES IN CHILI SAUCE INGREDIENTS: beef 100g, ox tongue 100g, ox head skin 100g, ox heart 150g, ox stomach 200g, spices (star anise, rhizoma, fennel, fructus tsaoko, cinnamon, clove, ginger, salt, oil cooked chili, Sichuan pepper powder), sesame, cooked peanuts, soy bean oil, Monosodium Glutamate (msg), and celery, each with a moderate potion.

STEPS:

1.

Chop beef into pieces, wash it clean with other inner parts (ox tongue, ox heart, ox head skin and ox stomach). Season all pieces with spices, salt and pepper powder. Bring mixed meat to boil using strong heat then turn heat down to simmer the meat till it’s cooked without falling apart. Bring the meat out to let it dry and cool down. Cut all pieces into big and thin slices.

2.

3.

Wash celery and chop it to 1 cm long sticks, stir fry sesame, crush sesame with cooked peanuts for use later.

Transport beef and other inner part slices onto a plate, add sauce, oil, msg, pepper powder, oil cooked chili, sesame, peanuts and celery, mix everything evenly before served.

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The Irresistible Charm of Chilies

川辣

SICHUAN CHILI

SICHUAN PEOPLE’S PASSION ON SPICY FOOD

The Irresistible Charm of Chilies

Sichuan people are actually not the biggest experts in eating chilies, but people always think of Sichuan whenever the topic of chili is mentioned. This is because, first of all, Sichuan dishes are popular across the country. Secondly, because of the use of Sichuan pepper, the “numb and spicy” taste has become Sichuan’s unmistakable signature. Lastly, Sichuan people are able to bring out the rich tastes of chilies through their various cooking methods. Although it has only been just over one hundred years since the birth and maturity of modern Sichuan cuisine, which is still a new arrival among the eight major Chinese dishes, the history of Sichuan people’s passion towards spicy food goes back a lot longer. In the Records of Huayang Kingdom, a book written over two thousand years ago, it mentioned that Sichuan people enjoy specially spicy and tasty food, which sums up the basic character of Sichuan cuisine. If one says the taste of spiciness is the style of the cuisine, then the obsession with the taste and texture is definitely the soul.

One dividing line between the ancient and modern Sichuan cuisine is the planting of chilies in Sichuan, which happened roughly during early Ming dynasty when Emperor Kangxi was in power. On the 27th year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign (AD1688), a book on gardening written

by Chen Xiuzi was published and in Chapter five it recoded, “foreign pepper, nicknamed hot pepper. It is vey spicy in taste. People often grind it into powder and use it to replace normal pepper in winter.” The foreign pepper mentioned here is the chili nowadays. And the marriage between chilies and broad bean gave birth to Sichuan bean sauce, which is praised as the soul of Sichuan cuisine. This sauce is commonly used in cooking Sichuan meal and symbols the start of modern Sichuan cuisine.

SICHUAN HOT POT Sichuan hot pot started roughly during the reign of Daoguang Emperor in Qing dynasty (1821-1851). Various sources have confirmed that the origin of Sichuan hot pot comes from a harbor in Luzhou city located by the Yangtze River. Everything was cooked within one crock, including water/soup, different vegetables, chilies and Sichuan pepper which were believed to be anti-toxi (there was also a saying about how people just lived on vegetables and chilies due to poverty).

Sichuan hot pot mirrors the flexibility of Chinese cooking. “hot pot” does not just refer to the name of container, but also indicates the way how it’s cooked. The harmony of Chinese cooking can be found in the choices of ingredients: meat and vegetables (either cooked or raw), which then are cooked to achieved different tastes, some will be heavily spiced, while some maintains its original flavor, some will be tender and crunchy, while some soft and ready to fall apart. Despite the differences, all ingredients and tastes are able to mix together wonderfully in a surprising way.

CHICKEN CUTLETS IN HEAVY SAUCE Chicken cutlets in heavy sauce is one of Sichuan’s characteristic dishes which is also a cold dish. The main ingredient is chicken, which is cooked to have an “odd” tastes that mixes the sense of numb, spicy, sour, sweet and savory together. The food can either be stewed, served cold, or pickled and so on. It is one classic representative of Chengdu dishes.

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The Irresistible Charm of Chilies

湘辣

XIANG CHILI GO WITH THE FLOW

(From Hunan Province)

The Irresistible Charm of Chilies

Geography speaking, Hunan has been called the “wet land” since ancient days due to the constant rain in that area. Chili would help keep the body warm and also get rid of the toxi within the body. In the meantime, because Hunan people eat rice all year around, using chilies facilitates the salivary secretion and improves people’s appetite.

As more and more people started to eat chilies, it gradually became a tradition.

Hunan people don’t settle with just one way of eating chilies. It can be sour and spicy –preserve red chilies in sealed vinegar jar; numb and spicy –cook chilies with Sichuan pepper and garlic; salty and spicy –dice red chilies finely and preserve it in sealed jar; chili with paste –dice red chilies finely, mix it with dry flour and preserve in sealed jar.

It can be fried or stirred it into a paste when cooked; chilies in oil –crush red chilies, add garlic, soy beans and soak in tea seed oil; sweet and spicy –bake red chilies in fire, peel off its thin skin, dress with sesame oil and soy sauce. Fresh chilies and dried chilies can also be used as ingredients for cooking of course not in just one way!

Hunan people love to use fresh or dried chilies in stir fried dishes, which can be told by the unmistakable smell of chilies coming out from the extractors when walking pass the neighborhood near dinner time. It’s like the taste of spiciness can only encourage Hunan people to want for even spicier food, and their folk’s wisdom is also fully expressed in the dishes produced. In spite of the rich selection of dishes, most of them are made with simple and common ingredients, using relatively painless methods. The dishes taste heavy but somehow manage to keep the original taste of the food, which is an obvious win against those dishes that taste nothing else but chilies.

So, what are Xiang/Hunan dishes? Well, go to the wet market and randomly pick a few ingredients, combine with some chopped chilies, chili and bean sauce, smoked meat, and you are read to treat yourself with a great meal!

TASTY SNAKE IN NING XIANG Back in the 90s from last century, there was a town called Da Cheng Qiao in Ning Xiang county, in which a restaurant started to cook dishes using snake meat. They skinned and chopped the snake into smaller pieces, slowly cooked it with dried chili powder, tomato sauce, anise, bay leaves, green and red pepper, spring onion, ginger and msg. The meat was first fried with high heat, then turn to simmering to allow it to absorb the flavor. When it’s served, covered in bright red chilies, the meat would also turn firm and red from soaking in the sauce. With just a bite, one could taste the meat that immediately fell out from the bones, tender and delicious, followed with the sense of hotness that is almost unbearable yet irresistible. It’s also said that they added grounded vitamin C powder into the sauce to off set the heat. Unlike the normal boiled snake, which can look intimidating with its pale meat, this snake dish is a great choice in both the look and taste.

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The Irresistible Charm of Chilies

FISH HEAD IN CHILI SAUCE

Hunan dishes have a strong folk feature and quite often use very simple ingredients and easy methods to cook a homely meal, whether it’s with congee, noodles or rice, stir fried dishes or soup. A dish of fish head in chili sauce, a combination of both the look –red chilies with white fish meat, and taste from the juice, adds bright colors to the dinner table. On top of this, if served with a bowl of handmade noodles, the meal is made complete. Tasty but easy!

The Irresistible Charm of Chilies

INGREDIENTS: 1 big fish head, appropriate amount of diced chilies, 1 big spoon of strong alcohol, a touch of pepper powder, 1 big spoon of cooking wine, 1 big spoon of soy sauce (specific for steamed fish), moderate amount of oil, salt, ginger and spring onion

4.

5.

Slice ginger, chop spring onion into shorter sticks, lay them at the bottom of the bowl;

6.

1.

7.

8.

2.

9.

STEPS: Wash the fish head clean, cut the head into half from the middle of fish lip. Give a few cuts in the meatier parts under the head; Spray cooking wine, pepper powder and salt over the head, massage it evenly and let it season for about 20 minutes;

3.

Pour the strong alcohol into the chopped chilies and stir it evenly for use later;

Grease with seasoned fish head with a little oil and spread it evenly;

Place fish head on top of the bowl; Pour the chilies mixture from step 3 over to fish head;

Add enough water to the steamer, bring water to boil, then put the fish head dish in steamer and seal it with a lid. Steam it on high heat for about 10 minutes; Take the fish out from steamer, pour away extra juice from the dish, sprinkle the head with chopped spring onion, add soy sauce, and lastly heat up a small amount of oil to pour on top of the dish.

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The Unchanging Taste in Changing Years

THE UNCHANGING TASTE IN CHANGING YEARS

The Unchanging Taste in Changing Years

It has become more and more a practice nowadays to renovate historical streets and carry out enclosure movements in the cities. Having been to the South Tong Street in Wuxi, and Southern Song Imperial Street in Hangzhou, another historical street –the East Zhonghua Gate Street of Nanjing has been found hiding behind the Ming city wall. Roads, streets, courtyards, bridges, river, harbor and even ancient trees have become the kind of standard elements of an old or newly renovated historical site, which also is turning more and more commercial. I remember when I was visiting the first water village—Zhou village as a kid, there were still a lot of residents in that little town, which made that place a living cultural inheritance. The recreation of historical sites cannot simply focus on the “”hardware” such as the buildings, but more importantly it should aim to showcase the culture, as everyone has a soft spot in their hearts for culture recognition.

In history, the East Zhonghua Gate Street was located to the east of Zhonghua Gate in Qinghuai district, Nanjing city. Because of its location—east of Jubao Gate (called Zhonghua Gate nowadays), the name East Zhonghua Gate was given. From the north the area starts at Changle road, arrives at Ming city wall in the south, and Jiangning road in the east, taking up a total area of about 700,000 square meters. This site has always been one of the key functioning areas in Confucius Temple.

The modern East Zhonghua Gate street has a lot to offer.

For example, the folk’s crafts including the scripture engraving, Nanjing opera, Deyun crosstalk association, handmade kites, fabric paintings, bamboo carvings, paper cutting, string puppets, and traditional Nanjing food such as pan fried dumplings and steam buns with meaty stuffing.

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The Unchanging Taste in Changing Years

WONTON

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Talking about the delicacies in the old street area, besides the well praised rice noodle soup with duck blood, steam buns, Chinese pancakes cooked with duck fat, sweet taro, and lotus roots in honey, there are also a few restaurants that sell wonton soup cooked by firewood, which is definitely worth of mentioning. The cracking noise of firewood and the smoke that wrap around the humble looking clay ovens in which there’s food yet to be served, produce a sense of warmth and comfort. One wonton, and two, and three ‌skillfully and quickly the restaurant owner picks up the meat stuffing with a pair of chopsticks in her right hand, and wrap it

into the wonton pastry in her left hand. Within a heartbeat the left hand closes tightly and a wonton is made and passed onto the tray.

Unlike the big wontons in the north, the ones in Nanjing are smaller in size, very thin in pastry and plain in the taste of its stuffing. Therefore, the soup base becomes extremely important. In the most authentic wonton soup, a small spoon of cooked lard will be added into the bowl, along with a spoonful of chopped spring onion, a pinch of pepper powder, and lastly the soup will be poured into the bowl, followed by the wontons.

Outdoor the customers sit in the wooden chairs,

The Unchanging Taste in Changing Years

waiting to be served with this simple yet delicious dish. Adding small dried shrimps and pickled vegetables to one’s choice, one can dip the wonton in chilly sauce, which will then go down happily into the tummy together with the soup. Vividly it’s decried as a “drinking” experience. After one bowl of wontons down the stomach, the whole body would feel nice and warm, while the chilly sauce would leave an impression too through the sweat on people’s noses! In many people’s childhood memories, the firewoodcooked wontons have the most special and

irreplaceable taste. Eating the wontons is more like searching for the most beautiful memory deep down in one’s heart.

Over the past few years in Nanjing, such wonton shop became a rare find. With the construction of the city, it has seemed to disappear although it used to be seen on the roads and among the streets. Surprisingly this familiar taste is now available again in the historical site. The old streets will continue to tell its story –the special wontons cooked in firewood.

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How to Treat Your Body with Proper Food in Autumn?

HOW TO TREAT YOUR BODY WITH PROPER FOOD IN AUTUMN?

When summer has come to an end and autumn is arriving at the doorstep, the weather is usually dry. Before the mid autumn, it will be warm and dry due to the remaining heat from summer. Afterwards the weather turns cooler and the wind starts to come, then it becomes cool and dry. Quite often we find that our mouth, nose, throat and skin are getting dry and even split during autumn. Is there a way to settle this? Well, first let’s find out what are the most suitable food to treat our bodies in this season.

How to Treat Your Body with Proper Food in Autumn?

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CHINESE YAM

When it comes to the healthy food for the month of September, without a doubt the Chinese yam should come as the first. It is nourishing for our spleen and stomach, especially beneficial for people who are weak in these two parts. For those who are prone to catching a cold repeatedly, they should eat more of the Chinese yam in autumn to improve the situation.

PURPLE YAM Place of Production: Cultivated in a few provinces along the south of Yangtze River Purple yam (dioscorea) is called as “purple ginseng” or “purple dioscorea”. With the fat tubers that look like a round post, this purple yam is rich in anthocyanin and potassium, with 1.5% of protein. Having the purple yam on a regular basis can help moisturize the skin and facilitate cell metabolism. It also contains 14.4% of carbohydrate and various vitamins and choline, which is of great nutrition value.

Frequent intake of purple yam also improves the anabolism of endocrine hormones.

OX LEG YAM Place of Production: Shandong province The name of “Ox leg” yam comes from the shape of its tubers which resembles an ox’s leg. This yam has high nutrition value and rates on top of the yam family.

It can be steamed, stewed or cooked together with congee.

YAM PEAS The kidney-shaped or oval shaped buds that usually grow in the axils of the yam plants are called yam peas. In terms of medical function, they are good for spleen, lung and kidney. As for the taste, they are similar to the yams, sweet with a fluffy texture.

The peas can either be deep fried, or made into a sweet and sour snack, both of which are quite lovely choices.

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How to Treat Your Body with Proper Food in Autumn?

CHINESE YAM

When it comes to the healthy food for the month of September, without a doubt the Chinese yam should come as the first. It is nourishing for our spleen and stomach, especially beneficial for people who are weak in these two parts. For those who are prone to catching a cold repeatedly, they should eat more of the Chinese yam in autumn to improve the situation.

THE BIG FAMILY OF CHINESE YAMS

“IRON BAR” YAM

WATER YAM

“PRETTY LADY” YAM

Place of Production: Henan province

Place of Production: Beijing, Shandong area

Place of Production: Hebei province

Only the yams grown in Wen county, Jiaozuo City can be called “iron bar” yams. Coming from the dioscorea family, this type of yams are relatively hairy and has a slightly darker colored skin. Rich in starch content and smooth in texture, these yams taste fluffy with a touch of sweetness. They can remain in boiling water for a long time without falling apart.

About 5cm in diameter, the water yam which looks like a stick with a straight body is bigger in terms of size in the yam family. This type of yam has a high water content and is very crisp and tender. It could be broken into two pieces without much force.

Grown in Hebei province, this “pretty lady” looks most like the “iron bar” yam among the family.

One can easily mistake the former with the later without a careful inspection. Anyway, “pretty lady” is a yam of good quality and fine taste (with slight difference from “iron bar”). It is a great and economical choice!

How to Treat Your Body with Proper Food in Autumn?

“BUDDHA HAND” YAM With a shape resembling a palm or horse hoof, this yam only grows in some area north in Wuxue city, Guangji county of Hubei province. In terms of taste and texture, “Buddha’s hand” yam has a splendid and light taste with smooth and glutinous texture, which differs itself from the other long shaped yam that is crispy instead. This yam can be cooked in soup with pork ribs, pork head or beef.caused by chemotherapy.

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How to Treat Your Body with Proper Food in Autumn?

LILY BULBS

Containing starch, protein, fat, calcium, phosphor, iron, a small amount of vitamins and alkaloids, lily bulbs do not just win the favor by their taste but also by the nutrient substance they carry. The cool quality of lily bulbs offsets the dryness that autumn brings. However, because of the cool quality, people with a chilled stomach, weak spleen and stomach, or suffering from cold and coughing should avoid eating the lily bulbs.

How to Treat Your Body with Proper Food in Autumn?

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THE BIG FAMILY OF LILY BULBS There are about 10 kinds of edible lily bulbs in China, among them the most cultivated ones are lily bulbs in Yixing, Lanzhou and Jiangxi.

LANZHOU LILY BULBS

YIXING LILY BULBS

Place of Production: Lanzhou city, Gansu province

Place of Production: Yixing city, Jiangsu province

Lanzhou lily bulbs are common in daily meal. They are big in size and rich in sugar, with a small percentage of crude fiber and other nutritious substance. They have a very delicate texture and no taste of bitterness.

Yixing lily bulbs have a pretty name as “rolling peony” because of its bright red petals that roll towards the outside. With a smaller sugar content compared to Lanzhou lily bulbs, the Yixing lily bulbs enjoy a better yield and their quality also rank quite high across the country. These bulbs have been cultivated for about three to four hundred years.

LONGYA LILY BULBS Place of Production: Jiangxi (Wanzai county, Zhongxishan village in Yongfeng city), Hunan (Longhui county, Anhua county) Longya lily bulbs have long enjoyed a good reputation in the area of Wanzai county, Jiangxi province. They were articles of tribute since Song dynasty, while Wanzai was praised as “the land of lily bulbs”. These lily bulbs have high starch content and rich nutrition, ranking on top of its family.

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Autumn Menu

AUTUMN MENU Not all nourishing food can be taken well, some may even work towards the other way if not careful. Overeating them will create too much heat in the body, and for those with a feeble body it’s difficult to digest the nutrition. Since the yam is very mild and easy to be digested, it’s suitable for people in various physical conditions. Yam goes really well with pork ribs, fish head and beef in soup.

DUCK SOUP WITH YAM AND BAMBOO SHOOTS Duck meat is very good for people’s lungs, which is similar with the yam in that regard.

When the duck is cooked together with the yam it becomes even more beneficial as the effect can be maximized. Meanwhile the yam helps to reduce the grease as it absorbs the fat from the duck. Smoked ham can also be added into the soup to bring out a more delicate taste. This is another choice of meal not to be missed in the dry autumn.

Autumn Menu

AUTUMN MENU Thanks to its nutritious content of starch, protein, calcium and phosphor, the lily bulbs can help moisten the lung, relieve coughing, cleanse the spleen, with a calming effect to one’s mind. The cooked lily bulbs have a slight taste of bitterness, which then turns into sweetness as an aftertaste.

To reduce the taste of bitterness, one can use less the heart of the bulb, and also soak the bulbs in water for a longer period, while changing the water for a few times during the period.

SOUP OF LADYBELL ROOT, FIG, LILY BULBS AND LEAN PORK The ladybell root, lily bulbs and fig are all moisturizing to the lung and throat, which marry well with the lean pork and dried orange skin that helps dissolve the phlegm.

In summary this soup moisturizes the throat, protects vocal cords, improves bowl movements and prevent piles.

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How to Treat Your Body with Proper Food in Autumn?

RADISH

Radish has the anti-cancer effect because of its content of lignin which can break down the carcinogen—nitrosamines. Furthermore, it is also one of the best sources of calcium intakes for human beings. Organic calcium is found most in radish skin, which can facilitate biliation and digestion of fat. The mustard oil and dietary fiber that the radish contains can also promote gastrointestinal peristalsis, which supports elimination of body waste.

Cooking radish together with pork ribs, beef, lamb or pig trotter in the soup is healthy and non-greasy. To reduce the spicy taste of radish, don’t close the lid too tightly when cooking the soup.

Autumn Menu

AUTUMN MENU

SHREDDED RADISH WITH CRUCIAN SOUP Shredded radish with crucian soup is another good choice for autumn and winter seasons for many reasons. The radish strengthens the spleen and stomach, dissolves phlegm and prevents coughing, coupled with the crucian which is also nourishing and invigorating. Furthermore, the soup also work to improve appetite, burn down body fat, enhance immunity system and prevent catching a cold.

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How to Treat Your Body with Proper Food in Autumn?

APRICOT SEEDS

Though the Chinese name for apricot seeds is exactly the same with almonds, they are nothing like the later and are commonly known as the south and north apricot seeds. In terms of the taste, apricot seeds can be either sweet or bitter, both of which are seeds of apricot trees under different categories.

The south apricot seeds, also known as the sweet seeds, have a rich content of protein and vegetable fat, which is nourishing to both the lungs and skin. The north apricot seeds, on the other hand, taste bitter and also look differently from its sweet siblings. They have smaller sizes, with thicker overall body and darker brown skin. The north apricot seeds are usually used in traditional Chinese medicine, with the function to relieve coughing and facilitate bowl movements. However, it’s noted that the raw north apricot seeds carry the poisonous substance—hydrocyanic acid, therefore they must first be boiled to get rid of the poison.

Autumn Menu

AUTUMN MENU

COMMON NIGHTBLOOMING CEREUS AND APRICOT SEEDS COOKED WITH PIG’S TONGUE The common nightblooming cereus is believed by traditional Chinese doctors to be very beneficial for human beings. It is good for the lungs, it dissolves phlegm, helps bowl movements, strengthens spleen and stomach and improves appetite. In the meantime, both the south and north apricot seeds are valuable traditional Chinese medicine which are good for cleansing and nourishing the lungs, as well as breaking down the phlegm and thus cure the coughing. Together the ingredients make a great soup that’s altogether healthy and delicious too, if added with sweet dates.

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How to Treat Your Body with Proper Food in Autumn?

POTATOES

Having plenty of dietary fibers, potatoes can aid bowl movements and thus relieve constipation.

The fact that they can remain in shape after being boiled in water makes them a good choice for soup, especially with their nice fluffy texture when cooked. The most common soup on western menu is the borsch. Cooked with potatoes, carrots, beetroots, onion, and beef, this soup tastes sweet and sour, very appetizing. Another classic one is potatoes with beef soup, which is both delicious and healthy.

New potatoes are good to be stewed and boiled, while the old ones are better to be fired. This is because the new potatoes are easy to get cooked, full of water and sugar, very glutinous and stay in shape in boiled water. When cooked in soup or stew, they have a very smooth texture.

On the other hand, although the old potatoes have basically the same kind of nutrition, they have less water content and a crispier texture, which make them a better choice for fried dishes as they will not stick to the pan or get burnt easily, as the new ones will.

Autumn Menu

AUTUMN MENU

BEEF SOUP WITH POTATOES AND TOMATOES Quite often one can see tomatoes, potatoes and beef cooked together. All three ingredients are common to find, yet together they produce something rather amazing.

Not only achieving the taste, which is richly flavored with sweet and sour taste, but also they represent a reasonable mixture of meat and vegetables and well-balanced nutrition intake, which makes them ideal for an autumn and winter meal.

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How to Treat Your Body with Proper Food in Autumn?

LOTUS ROOTS

The cooked lotus roots have many good things to offer: mild, non-toxic and good for stomach functioning. Soup with lotus roots is good for urination and moistens stomach and spleen.

They can be cooked in soup together with lean pork meat or pork bone, alternatively with green beans as well to improve the taste. If cooked for a long time, it’s best to use ceramic or stainless saucepans instead of iron ones, which will prevent the roots from turn black due to oxidation. For the same reason iron knife should be avoided to chop lotus roots.

Autumn Menu

AUTUMN MENU

LOTUS ROOTS WITH PORK RIBS SOUP Lotus roots and pork ribs soup can help with dissolving phlegm and improve skin condition. It is also beneficial for people suffering from anemia and insomnia. It’s noted though for ladies with a more feeble body, it’s better to use green beans to cook with lotus roots, as to balance with the “heat” in the lotus roots.

Besides the popular ingredients mentioned above in the article for the month of September, there are also other recommended choices such as walnuts, honey, milk, peanuts, dates, lotus seeds, all of which can be served in soup or as a desert. Especially for the ladies, autumn is the season when the skin will be dry out more easily, therefore more attention should be paid to ingredients that help moisturize the skin, such as the snow fungus.

Recommendation of other similar ingredients can be found in previous articles as well.

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VOL.005 September 2017

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