liuzhou

Here's what we are up against. Sounds good. Right? Wild, sustainable. Very good from a wild planet. No salt added. Then turn the box over. Caught in the North Pacific, flown all the way to Thailand, processed there and shipped all the way back to the US. Then shipped to me in China. Near Thailand. And what's this in the ingredients. Salt! I am however surprised but delighted to learn the can of sardines contains, of all things, fish.

I occasionally buy this for special meals. It ain't cheap, even though Cambodia is only a short way away. They also do white and pink peppercorns, but I've never bought them. For daily use , I go for Vietnamese.

The place where I fond the samphire immediately above has expanded its range of offerings. The first, I've been looking for for years. It is native to China but hitherto has only been sold dried in TCM stores. 大黄 (dà huáng), Rheum × hybridum, Rhubarb. ¥25 / $ 3.50 USD for 500g And 蒔蘿 (shí luó), Anethum graveolens, Dill. This is not native to China and I've no idea what people here may do with it. I use it, of course, with fish. ¥18 / $2.50 USD for 250g.

They are here too. Things come and go in mysterious ways. I've seen stuff selling like hotcakes and the stores never restocking. I think they find it messes up t heir shelf stacking rotas or something. We don't want to sell that! People just go and buy it!" Also stores disappear, too; restaurants more so but that's common everywhere. But this is different. Several stores carried those sardines. And I've been buying them for years. Suddenly they disappeared from al the stores at once. The stores are still there and trading though. Even through the pandemic, I could fins them easily. Í've never seen anything like that before. Also, the donkey restaurant is still there doing all the same dishes as before except the burgers. Most odd.

I was idly flicking through my food delivery app, looking for inspiration. This momentarily baffled me. At first I thought it was a black trash bag but then noticed the whitish semi-transparent top. Then the penny dropped. The contents are an ingredient for dinner. It is a mixture of duck blood and rice vinegar. The vinegar prevents the blood from congealing and adds tartness. Used in a Yao minority dish called 醋血鸭 (cù xuè yā), literally ‘vinegar blood duck’. A young duck is chopped on the bone and stir fried with garlic, ginger, chilli, bitter melon, sesame and peanuts and finished in a rich sauce made from the bird’s blood and vinegar. Served with green vegetables of choice and rice, it makes for a delicious lunch or instead can be served as part of a larger family style meal. The vinegar cuts the richness of the blood, whereas the blood limits the astringency of the vinegar, leaving the duck tender and juicy, but not at all greasy. I have made the dish but never seen the premixed blood and vinegar before. Very fresh blood is on sale in my local market so I grab it before it congeals. Yao Blood and Vinegar Duck

I don’t know what’s happening. In the last couple of weeks, things have been going wrong. First I cooked some black boletes. I’ve been doing this for years and always bought them from the same seller. About half an hour later, I started shouting for Hughie*. Since then I can’t even look at a picture of the things without feeling distinctly nauseous. Things went downhill from there. A few days later I discovered my local donkey meat supplier has ceased doing their wonderful ‘donkey burgers’. I can still find the meat, but I liked the convenience of just ordering them online and waiting 30 minutes for them to be delivered. Anyway, I kind find the bread they used anywhere. The it got much worse. For unknown reasons my favourite Portuguese canned sardines have disappeared from China! I used to bulk buy them, but now I’m down to my last two cans. In fact, ALL European sardines have disappeared except Porthos brand which I don't know. It’s the end of civilisation! * A Scottish phrase attributed to my old friend Billy Connolly meaning to projectile vomit. A fine example of onomatopœia. As can been seen here. You may need an interpreter – this was recorded in Scotland. Billy Connolly _ Two Scotsmen in Rome - YouTube

Tachycardia When I see tacos and my heart races

I too prefer Vietnamese and living within a stone's throw helps with freshness (and price). I rarely use anything else. Vietnam is, by a longshot, the world's largest producer of black peppercorns.

Thanks. I know Singapore fish head curry. It was the head-less that confused me. Fish head and tofu soup is very common here, usually made with bighead carp. Me likes. Bighead Carp Head

The Guardian coverage of the trial has continued today (Monday). Protester accosts judge as Erin Patterson trial hears how officials tried to find source of deadly mushrooms | Victoria | The Guardian

They're the same species. As to single origin, it may be a different usage in the EU and UK and in the USA. In the UK it is more narrowly defined.

The Amazon listing is indeed strange. Although Tellicherry (India) and Kampot (Cambodia) peppercorns are essentially the same, perhaps terroir is important. Also, the Oaktown Spice listing is strange. Their definition of 'single origin' is very vague. Also, it should be noted that as Kampot's production is rising due to the export market, the production is also causing large scale deforestation in a country already suffering serious deforestation.

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海鲜菠萝炒饭 (hǎi xiān bō luó chǎo fàn), seafood pineapple fried rice.

Hemingway's favourite burger recipe - BBC News

All Guardian content is paywall-free and they have sworn it will remain so. They also have (slightly) different editions for the UK, America and Australia. You can select which you want at the top beside the large Guardian logo. As someone who has worked closely with the judicial process (not in Australia or north America), I am very wary of commenting on any on-going legal procedures. It can be prejudicial and result in mistrials. So, I will only say that whether this was deliberate or accidental is not for us to decide. BUT it does once again highlight the dangers of picking and consuming wild mushrooms if you are not an expert. Being fairly sure is not enough!!

The Guardian has been reporting in great detail on this every day the court is in session. Paywall-free.

肉包 (ròu bāo), Pork stuffed bao (steamed buns). Served with 剁辣椒 (duò là jiāo ), chopped chilli dip from Hunan.

Yes. The Korean translates as 'Thai basil'.

you've mentioned 'Asian basil'. before. I'm curious as to which Asian basil. There are a few.

Indeed. And I read the article when it was first published a year ago. At that time, I thought the same as I do now. Freezing food was not so ephemeral as made out and remember, the climate was very different in ancient times. Natural ice is still available year-round in many parts of the world and I don't only mean the poles! And that meal for sure wasn't the first banquet to feature frozen food. It was an early 20th century marketing ploy. Interesting though.

While I have no reason to believe that this banquet didn't happen, that it was the first to use refrigerated food, is definitely wrong . Food has ben refrigerated since ancient times - the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all stored ice for refrigeration and built ice storage rooms. None of these cultures were unappreciative of the odd banquet or five. Prior to those classical times, food had been stored in ice for millennia. The banquet in the article may have been the first to use refrigerated food in America (highly unlikely), or perhaps the first to use foods refrigerated using mechanical refrigeration. Note: I haven't read Ms Tilley's book (but will if I can find it) but Gastro Obscura is not infallible. PS: Were the cigars on the menu refrigerated?

Chicken Fried Rice

Yesterday, a friend asked me (in English despite being Chinese) if I liked Wogan. I had no idea what she was talking about. The only Wogan I was aware of was an Irish radio and television presenter who later also took British nationality and was knighted by the late Mrs Queen before dying in 2016. It turned out she was not referring to deceased knights, but a fruit! 沃柑 (wò gān) is a type of mandarin orange, Citrus reticulata, originally a cultivar developed in Israel where they are know as 'orah oranges', but now mainly grown in in their ancestral homeland of China, particularly right here in Guangxi. They are extremely sweet and juicy but still not my favourite, 耙耙柑 (pá pá gān) as mentioned here.

I have many times made 'en papillote' fish of various species, but I seldom use actual paper, most often instead going for tinfoil / aluminum foil. I also, less frequently, use bamboo or banana leaves. The locals claim the leaves impart flavour, but I don't detect any difference. Bamboo Leaves While parchment paper probably makes for a better crowd pleaser at the table, I don't think it really adds anything to the dish. The point of wrapping the food then unwrapping it is that the diners get the aroma of the ingredients when it is open and the steam comes out. Foil is certainly more clean-up friendly. I did find that recipe confusing though, in that she opens the bag to check for doneness, letting out the steam and aroma. Major abuse of food! My French grandmother would have roasted her for doing that! Not opening the bag until served does make it harder to prepare but it's a dish to show off your skill! The technique is used here in China, but not often.