liuzhou

I have come across a very local fruit. So local in fact that it has no English name that I've been able to find. The botanists are so excited they have given it the catchy name Campanumoea Lancifolia (Roxb.) Merr. [Campanula Lancefolia Roxb.] and a back up name Cyclotron lancifolius, and that's it apart from the Chinese name, Simp: 红果参; Trad: 紅果參(hóng guǒ shēn) which literally translates as 'red fruit ginseng' , although it is unrelated to ginseng. There is very little information on the website about this fruit in English, other than it is cultivated in southwest China. Guess where I am! The Chinese articles aren't much more enlightening. About 2.5 cm / one inch in diameter they have the texture of a particularly juicy apple and taste like a cross between a sweet pear and apple. Quite pleasant. Inside, they look like this.

Japan, in a number of ways, exemplifies the rise, fall and rise of fish sauce in parts of Asia. It isn't known exactly how fish sauce arrived in East Asia. There are claims it was brought by the Romans to China. Alternatively, it could have been developed independently. Or both. Whatever, it was certainly a major sauce in parts of China, which introduced it to Japan and Korea. In the 14th century, soy sauce started to oust it and by the 16th century fish sauce was almost extinct in those countries. Only in recent years, has there been a revival, with small enterprises reviving old recipes and techniques. Interest, fuelled in part by tourism, is growing. Today, the three major types of fish sauce in Japan are しょっつる (shottsuru), いしり (ishiri) / いしる ishiru and いかなご醤油 (ikanaga shoyo). Shottsuru (しょっつる) 秋田 (Akita) is a relatively small city in the prefecture of the same name on the northwestern coast of Japan's largest island, 本州 Honshū. The local fisherman's main catch was ハタハタ (hatahata), Japanese sandfish, Arctoscopus japonicus . Hatahata - oganavi.com Shottsuru made from hatahata was revived and put into production by around 1980. By the early 90s catches had declined dramatically due to overfishing and today most shottsuru is made using 鰯 (iwashi) - sardines. Hatahata populations have somewhat revived, but the fish is rarely consumed today. Shottsuru - nihonmono.jp Shottsuru is paler and milder than many fish sauces (as are most Japanese types) and can be used as a dip for おにぎり - onigiri rice balls, served with うどん - udon noodles, mixed into ラーメン - ramen, added to 炒め物 - stir-fries, etc.

Chinese style sesame paste is also easy to make at home. I haven't bought any for years. I make my own tahini, too.

The memory I have most from the early days of learning Chinese was being in a restaurant and recognising the first two characters of 鸡肉冠 as meaning 'chicken meat' and assuming the unknown third character must be how it was cooked. Feeling safe, I ordered it and was 'delighted' when a plate of cock's combs turned up, bright red and rubbery. I've never forgotten what that third character means.

The address and opening time etc is in my post about Vietnamese fish sauce over here.

I'm told the Red Boat factory visit is worth the visit. Unfortunately, it was closed when I was there.

Known to have been used in China since the 5th century, pure sesame paste or sauce - S: 纯芝麻酱; T: 純芝麻醬 (chūn zhī ma jiàng) is made from dark toasted white sesame seeds and sesame oil. Tahini and Chinese sesame paste are NOT interchangeable as tahina has a much lighter toast, if any. Chinese paste is thicker and much more strongly flavoured. One unwitting friend used it to make inedible, disgusting hummus. Instead, it is added to noodle dishes, used as a dipping sauce for hotpots and incorporated into stir fries. Black seed sesame paste is used in tang yuan, a CNY treat of glutinous rice balls filled with the paste and served in a syrupy soup. White seed sesame paste (left) and black sesame seed paste (right).

I have started a companion topic in the Cookbook and References section, listing some interesting and relevant reading material. I will continue with more fish sauces here.

As an adjunct to the Fish Sauce topic, here are three books specifically dealing with fish sauce and recipes using that. First up, The Red Boat Fish Sauce Cookbook (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) by the makers of Vietnam's finest nước mắm. Then a general selection of 50 recipes using fish sauces from around the world: The Fish Sauce Cookbook (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) by Victoria Meewes. And finally, The Story of Garum (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) by Sally Grainger for the history and background. ( Of the three, I've only read the last, so can't vouch for any recipes. Anyone?

Here's one I buy. S; 青花椒酱; T: 青花椒醬 (qīng huā jiāo jiàng) is 'green Sichuan peppercorn sauce' aka 'rattan pepper sauce'. It is made by pounding said peppercorns with oil. You could do this yourself in a mortar and pestle if you can source the green peppercorns, but buying this is the easier way. I've never seen this done with the more easily sourceable red Sichuan peppercorns. No idea why. This is added to noodles, mixed into stir fries or used as a dipping sauce to add that 'ma' numbness.

Leftover chicken and black bolete fried rice from last night's dinner.

Damn! I asked them to send me some (along with some other supplies) to resolve the mystery and received this note. It says "Extremely sorry. We are out of sea hare. Will refund you shortly. Sorry again." I know they have squid in stock as they did send me that! I'll see if they ever restock.

Granted. The accompanying text describes them as 'black', which would make more sense.

Cambodia, កម្ពុជា (Kampuchea) is possibly the only country where you can spend fish. The local currency, រៀល (riĕl) , introduced in 1953 when the country gained independence from France, is believed by many to take it's name from a variety of fish, Henicorhynchus entmema or 'riĕl'. Rial harvest Others dispute this, claiming implausibly that the name is derived from the Spanish real, although they struggle to explain how or why a bunch of southeast Asian peasants, newly liberated from French colonial rule, suddenly took up speaking Spanish. Whatever, the story does indicate the importance of the fish in Cambodia. It is this species, caught in Tonle Sap Lake, that is used in their ubiquitous fish sauce, ប្រហុក (prahok). Mud carp, រៀល (riĕl), are fermented with salt as usual and both the resulting juices and the residual fish are sold as ប្រហុក (prahok). Prahok (centre) Although they can't agree on the etymology of their cash, everyone agrees the prahok stinks. Of all the fermented fish products, this is probably the most notorious. Prahok is also used in the preparation of ទឹកត្រីb (tuk trei), Cambodia's version of the dipping sauces found all over SE Asia, mixed with lime juice, garlic and chilli. In fact, Cambodia has many versions of this, depending on the added ingredients. Note: Khmer transliteration has never been standardised, so you will see various spellings of all these terms. Images from Phnom Penh Post

They are half the price squid normally goes for.

One of my local delivery stores is offering frozen sea hare. I was under the impression that these were poisonous but their ads don't mention that or anything else useful except the price, 30元 / $4.20 for 500 grams. I can see nothing online about edibility. Anyone know anything about these gastropods? Images from store's online listing.

Chicken and black bolete fried rice. Doubanjiang, garlic, ginger, coriander/cilantro, garlic chives, Shaoxing, Korean fish sauce.

It's the Year of the Dragon and I'm Dreaming. 梦龙 (mèng lóng) means 'Dream Dragon' and that's what I'm snacking on. That is also the name Wall's the ice cream people use for the Magnum brand in China. These are the plain vanilla type but I do miss the mango flavour they had fifteen or so years ago. They were good with a capital goo! These two are in my freezer for later. Another one is inside me. They are definitely smaller than before - shrinkflation's ugly head.

One of the less well-known fish sauces is ນ້ໍາປາ (nam pa). No, I haven't misspelled 'nam pla'. ນ້ໍາປາ (nam pa) is the Lao version and pronunciation. Laos has some of the most interesting fish sauces. There are basically two types of fish sauce found in this small land-locked country sandwiched between Thailand and Cambodia. າປາ (nam pa), made from fermented fish is the basic version and similar in appearance to the similarly named Thai type. However, it is stronger and funkier smelling. However, more popular is ປາແດກ (padaek), an unfiltered product which is thicker than nam pa and often contains lumps of fermented fish. It is somewhere between a sauce and a paste. Padaek It is also much stronger in flavour, depending on the fermentation time (between one and five years), but essential in ส้มตำ (som tam), green papaya salad which although usually associated with Thailand, actually originated in Laos. Fish sauce also appears in laap, raw or rare beef salad. Yes, this too originated in Laos. And yes, there is no /r/ sound in the word. The Isaan area of Thailand used to be Lao territory and the majority of the population is still ethnically Lao. There are, by far, more Lao people in Thailand than in Laos - 17 million in Thailand; 8 million in Laos. So, you've probably eaten Lao food even if you think you've only eaten Thai. Laos too has a fish sauce dip. This is known as ແຈ່ວ ສົ້ມ (transliterated as jeow som or jaew some, literally 'spicy sauce sour'). This is similar to the Thai prik nam pla (น้ําปลาพริก), fish sauce being mixed with lime juice and chilli along with garlic and coriander leaf/Cilantro. Lao sauces are not widely distributed but you can, should you wish and have extremely tolerant neighbours, make your own padaek. Recipe here. http://padaek.com/make-padaek-lao-fermented-fish-sauce-recipe/

I could eat croissants for a living and that was my thought, too.

4" abalone! That is large. The largest I get here are half that. I get both farmed and wild but they are all pretty much the same size.

This is a guess but the bag on the left is obviously Thai while that on the right seems to be Chinese. Trade tariffs?

S: 柱侯酱; T: 柱侯醬 (zhù hóu jiàng), in the West often rendered in pseudo - Cantonese as Chee Hou or Chu Hou Sauce is mostly used in Cantonese cuisine and is similar to the better known S: 海鲜酱; T: 海鮮醬 (hǎi xiān jiàng), hoisin sauce. Although both are made from fermented soy beans, this one has different extra ingredients. These vary by producer - there is no standard recipe. Some ingredients in addition to the soy beans include salted lemons, plums, tofu, garlic and sesame. Used in stir-fries and braised dishes.

Last night I discovered there is a source of Chinese fish sauce other than in Chaoshan as mentioned above. A short distance east of Chaozhou is Fujian province, which has also had an influence on Chaoshan's Teochow cuisine. But it seems the traffic hasn't all been one way. There is a Fujianese fish sauce. S:闽江鱼露; T: 閩江魚露 (mǐn jiāng yú lù), Min River Fish Sauce is made in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian. Fujian cuisine is know in China as 闽菜 (mǐn cài), after the river. To be tried.

... but people here do use peanut butter that way. I'm not fond of peanut butter or satay so I let them get on with it. 🥜