On 7/9/2021 at 12:55 AM, liuzhou said:Coincidentally, I was thinking about figs today after seeing these which an itinerant vendor was carrying.
That got me thinking about these, which I've seen many, many times over the last few years. Dried figs.
I have no idea how they are used; must find out. I suspect they are involved in TCM (Chinese Traditional Medicine) but don't actually know, but then everything else is.
Interestingly (perhaps), the Chinese name for figs, 无花果 (wú huā guǒ) translates literally as 'no flower fruit'.
Dry figs are very common along the Mediterranean basin (where fig is mostly from, historically, and thus it is a way to keep the figs year round since the old days). My dad always had a jar full of them and just pick them as a snack. It is good to see they are available too in China, because I have miss them a bit in other countries and I though it was a very localized product.
I am sure there may be multiple recipes to use them, but I would tell you give them a go in the easiest way, grab them from the peduncle (if any) and eat them, as they are, without the peduncle. Then, if you like them (I am sure you will), it will be easier to you to think about how to cook with them. From my personal experience, i use to put some together with other stuff like dried apricots etc inside a teal before roasting the game in the oven. Surely some more Chinese styled recipes, with pork, may go well too in a sour sweet style?.
cheers
PS-edited: There is "pan de higos" ("figbread"), which is made mostly of figs, not really a bread, rather, crunched dry figs in the form of a "tosta". Very good for using on a hike etc...
