Chinese Herbs and Spices

[shain]

13 hours ago, liuzhou said:

ground ginger powder

 

I'm usually not a fan of the stuff. But it has it place in cakes and cookies (mostly of European origin) where one can assume no fresh ginger was available at the time.

It's soon the honey-cake time of year 

[shain]

29 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

Bay leaves are often underappreciated in the west, and often due to being applied to sparingly.

[KennethT]

41 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 Are these available in Chinese / Asian markets overseas?

 

I've never seen them in stores in my Chinatown here - not that they may not be tucked away somewhere, but I've never come across them.  I also haven't specifically looked for them though, but I don't know how many people are making hot pot at home here.

[liuzhou]

8 hours ago, shain said:

 

I'm usually not a fan of the stuff. But it has it place in cakes and cookies (mostly of European origin) where one can assume no fresh ginger was available at the time.

It's soon the honey-cake time of year 

 

Yes. Same here in China. That is why I can only usually find it in bakery supply shops.

Edited August 23, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

8 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I've never seen them in stores in my Chinatown here - not that they may not be tucked away somewhere, but I've never come across them.  I also haven't specifically looked for them though, but I don't know how many people are making hot pot at home here.

 

I'd be surprised if the Chinese community aren't making hot pots, especially in winter.

[KennethT]

13 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

I'd be surprised if the Chinese community aren't making hot pots, especially in winter.

I wouldn't say no - I really have no idea.  Unfortunately, I'm not friendly with anyone in the NYC Chinese community and have never been invited to a hot pot in someone's home

 

But now that I think about it, I definitely see a lot of thinly sliced meats (mostly beef) in the refrigerated case at my local Korean (and other Asian) store and also in my local Japanese grocery (labeled typically for Sukiyaki or Shabu Shabu, which is a form of hot pot).  I haven't been in a true Chinese grocery or meat market in a long time since Chinatown is more of a schlep than either of the other stores, both of which are around the corner from me.

[liuzhou]

7 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I definitely see a lot of thinly sliced meats (mostly beef) in the refrigerated case

 

Yes.  Most supermarkets here have the same sliced meat for hot pots, but mostly lamb. But they do also have beef. This will be cooked in the broth made from the spice bags.

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

14. 芝麻 (zhī ma) – Sesame Seed – Sesamum indicum

 

 

芝麻 (zhī ma), sesame is a flowering plant native to India but now naturalized across tropical regions worldwide, having been domesticated around 3500 BCE. It has one of the highest concentrations of oil among the food seeds.

 

China imports much of its sesame, falling behind only Japan as a the world’s main importer. Most of those imports are for processing into sesame oil, 芝麻油 (zhī ma yóu) or 香油 (xiāng yóu, literally ‘fragrant oil’). The largest exporters are India, Ethiopia and Myanmar.

 

The oil is made in the normal way by grinding toasted seeds to extract their oil, like peanut buitter. The remaining material is used for animal feed. Always check the contents list of sesame oil. It should be very short. Sesame oil. Some brands mix it with cheaper substitute oils – don’t encourage them!

 

Sesame Oil

 

Sesame oil is NEVER used for cooking in China. Nor is it added to marinades before cooking. The smoke point is far too low and heat rapidly destroys both the taste and flavour for which the oil is valued. It is only ever used as a finishing oil or condiment, added to dishes off the heat and seconds before serving.

 

Sesame seeds come in two types. White (白芝麻 - bái zhī ma) and black (黑芝麻 - hēi zhī ma). White sesame is often sprinkled on meat or fish dishes to be served cold, as well as used in some breads, cakes and cookies. Black seeds are nearly all made into sesame paste which is used in cakes and buns. The more usual white seeds turn up in more situations.

 

That said, sesame seeds are not used nearly so much as they do in western interpretations of Chinese cuisine.

 

I cringe every time I read online recipes or see some clueless YouTube video presenter telling me to sprinkle them on anything vaguely Chinese as “it is traditional”. No It. Isn’t. Sesame seeds scattered over your fried rice doesn’t make it Chinese any more than adding soy sauce to your cornflakes does! “Sesame chicken”, which appears multiple times on a Google search for Chinese recipes using sesame is almost unknown here.

 

According to theSpruceeats.com

 

Quote

Sesame is a mainstay of Chinese cuisine. Toasted white and black sesame seeds are sprinkled on salads, sesame paste is added to sauces, and delightfully aromatic sesame oil is used to flavor everything from dips to marinades and finish off a stir-fry.

 

80% nonsense. Chinese cuisine has very few salads and none of those I’ve ever eaten have had sesame seeds on them. I’d love to know what sauces sesame paste is added to. It is a sauce, albeit a thick one.

 

Their main use is for oil, “used to flavor everything from dips to marinades and finish off a stir-fry”. Yes. Nearly. Not the marinade part.

 

Both colours of sesame seeds are often sprinkled on meat or fish dishes to be served cold, as well as some breads, cakes and cookies. Mainly for cosmetic reasons.

 

Cold Spicy Whitebait with White Sesame Seeds

 

Pure sesame paste 纯芝麻酱 / 純芝麻醬 (chún zhī ma jiàng) is made from heavily roasted sesame seeds. It too, comes in ‘white’ and black versions. The white is actually a light brown colour. See image below. Black sesame paste is used is in sweet items such as 汤圆 / 湯圓 (tāng yuán), stuffed glutinous rice balls; and some sweet dim sum items.

 

 

Note: Tahini and Chinese sesame paste are very different in taste and cannot be successfully substituted for each other. Tahini is made from raw seeds which, if toasted at all, are only very lightly toasted. Different flavour altogether

 

Black Sesame Paste and Peanut Buns

 

Here are two diffent types of sesame paste - a more unusual type, but my favourite. Uncrushed white seeds are mixed with soybean oil, salt, MSG and Sichuan peppercorn powder (left). The one on the right replaces the Sichuan pepper with chilli. It is made in Shandong province, but doesn't strike me as being typical of Shandong cuisine.

 

 

Sesame seeds should be bought in small quantities and stored in the fridge. They can turn rancid quite quickly otherwise. Also, paste should be refrigerated after opening. I keep the oil in the fridge, too. Maybe unnecessary, but it is tropical here. I also buy the oil in the smallest bottles available (usually 100 ml / 3.38 oz).

 

A few of the sweet items follow. There are many more.

 

Sesame Lotus Cake (芝麻莲蓉包 / 芝麻蓮蓉包 - zhī ma lián róng bāo). Sticky and very sweet. Not my thing!

 

Sesame and green tea (matcha) cakes. These I do like.

 

汤圆 / 湯圓 (tāng yuán) - glutinous rice balls stuffed with black sesame paste, usually served in a sweet soup. Again not my thing.

 

[Tropicalsenior]

I was very glad to get the clarification on Sesame seed and sesame oil. These are the three oils that are available to me in the supermarkets here.

Left to right, from Greece, China, and from Roland?. The one from Roland is the only one that is clearly marked pure sesame oil. It does have this Chinese writing on the back.

The one from Greece doesn't list ingredients and the one from China is sesame oil and soybean oil.

I would be very interested to know more about the Chinese oil and how it would be used. I know that you would probably dump it but here, Beggars can't be choosers.

[heidih]

@Tropicalsenior I know Roland as a food marketing & distribution company. I frequently see their products in mainstream stores here.

 

@liuzhou Do you taste a great difference between the black and white seeds? My insensitive palate "sees" the seeds as more cosmetic when sprinkled. Are they toasted or raw?

[Tropicalsenior]

10 minutes ago, heidih said:

I know Roland as a food marketing & distribution company.

Yes, they buy food from all over the world in bulk and redistribute it under their brand name. That is why I sometimes question the origins of the food. I buy a lot of it here because sometimes it is the only brand available and I've never really had any reason to question the quality of their food.

[heidih]

13 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Yes, they buy food from all over the world in bulk and redistribute it under their brand name. That is why I sometimes question the origins of the food. I buy a lot of it here because sometimes it is the only brand available and I've never really had any reason to question the quality of their food.

Sorry! I didn't get the humor   Yes I've never had a disappointing experience with them. 

[liuzhou]

4 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

These are the three oils that are available to me in the supermarkets here.

 

4 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

would be very interested to know more about the Chinese oil and how it would be used. I know that you would probably dump it but here, Beggars can't be choosers.

 

The Greek oil is pressed from untoasted sesame seeds, hence the lighter colour. It is intended for frying. It is not a suitable choice for Chinese food. Chinese oil is made from heavily toasted seeds, hence its darker colour. The taste is very different.

 

The label on the one of from China says 小磨芝麻油 我，which means it is "Fine milled sesame oil', but, if it includes soybean oil, it is a very inferior type. I would avoid if you have a choice. Which you appear to do!

 

The Chinese on the label of the Roland variety reads 纯芝麻油, the same as the English, "pure sesame oil" which is just what you want. It would be my choice from the three. OK, it isn't exactly single estate bottled, but it does appear to be the real deal and is in an appropriate size of bottle. I do notice, however, that it has the contents listed, but not visible in your photo. Could you let me know what it says, please, then I can make my final judsgement.

[Tropicalsenior]

As you said, the ingredient list is sesame oil only. I also missed the little part where it says Taiwan.

Edited August 23, 2021 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[liuzhou]

30 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

As you said, the ingredient list is sesame oil only. I also missed the little part where it says Taiwan.

 

Yes. Of the three you have, that would be my choice, for sure.

Edited August 23, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

3 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

Yes. Of the three you have, that would be my choice, for sure.

So, in the spirit of waste not want not, is there anything that I can use the others for?

[liuzhou]

9 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

So, in the spirit of waste not want not, is there anything that I can use the others for?

 

Got any squeaking hinges?

 

But seriously, there is nothing wrong with the Greek one. It just isn't for Chinese cuisine.

 

The Chinese one is more difficult. I would bin it, but I know that doesn't answer your question. Massage oil?

[Tropicalsenior]

3 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

The Chinese one is more difficult.

Maybe I should just go on the internet and find an authentic Chinese recipe by someone named Mary Beth Sodenhein who lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Then if it ain't authentic it really ain't authentic.

[liuzhou]

15. 丁香 (dīng xiāng ) – Cloves – Syzygium aromaticum

 

 

When I first heard the Chinese name for cloves I was delighted; dīng means ‘nail’ as in ‘hammer and nail’. Just what they look like. Unfortunately, I then learned the appropriate character and discovered I had jumped, as usual, to the wrong conclusion. The nail dīng is 钉 and not 丁. You can see the latter embedded in the former, but here it is just a phonetic element. Chinese homophones will be the end of me! The English name ‘clove’ is derived from the French for nail, ‘clou’.

 

But on with the show.

 

Cloves are the dried, unopened flowers of a tree native to Indonesia, but now domesticated worldwide. It can reasonably be argued that the entire history of European expansion and colonialism which shaped the modern world in so many ways was based on cloves (and nutmeg). For a fascinating read on that history see Nathaniel's Nutmeg: or, The True and Incredible Adventures of the Spice Trader Who Changed the Course of History (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) by Giles Milton.

 

It is said that in the 3rd century BCE, Chinese Han Dynasty emperors required that all visitors chew cloves to sweeten their breath.

 

Its main culinary use in China is as yet another essential ingredient in five-spice powder, but is also found in many of the sort of hot pot spice mixes I described above.

 

It is also widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Everyone knows the toothache trick of biting a clove to dull the pain.

Again, cloves are available both whole or pre-ground for the ignorant and lazy! The whole cloves keep their taste for months; the pre-ground was already stale before it left the factory.

 

Edited October 20, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[Alex]

On 8/18/2021 at 8:59 PM, liuzhou said:

 

Vietnamese cinnamon is closer to cassia than to true cinnamon. Sri Lankan cinnamon is probably the best for baking, if you can find it.

 

Penzey's carries cinnamon from Sri Lanka. I suspect other retailers in the States do so, too.

[liuzhou]

16. 人参 (rén shēn) – Ginseng – Panax ginseng

 

 

The 人 in the Chinese name means “human being” and gives its name to the roots of the plant as they are said to resemble a human with arms and legs. Not sure I see it myself.

 

The plant grew in northern China, but is now almost extinct in the wild. What little wild Panax ginseng remains is a protected species. There is a wild version in southern China, Panax notoginseng, in Chinese 田七 (tián qī) or 三七 (sān qī ) but this is consider inferior by many.

So, all commercially available panax ginseng today is cultivated. Its main use is in TCM, where it is believed, without evidence, to be a cure-all. Panax is from the Greek πανακής, meaning ‘cure-all’.

 

The roots have a sweet and slightly bitter flavour, although it is quite mild. It really is more valued for its supposed medicinal qualities.

 

It is also used in soups, especially 人参鸡汤 (rén shēn jī tāng). There are many recipes for this and many variations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginseng_chicken_soup It is considered a comfort food, as chicken soup is in many cultures. It is commonly given to pregnant women in the first trimester.

 

American ginseng, Panax quinquefolius is imported and valued, but is more expensive here.

 

[heidih]

Ginseng "wars" in the US are like secretive truffle hunting. Quite dramatic at times. And then pandemic and trade warring. https://www.pri.org/stories/2021-03-16/american-ginseng-farmers-battered-trade-wars-and-pandemic

[liuzhou]

17. 大蒜 (dà suàn) – Garlic – Allium sativum

 

 

This is the second of the Chinese culinary holy trinity to be covered here. I already did ginger.

 

Garlic has been used in China for thousands of years and appears in almost every savoury dish from soups to stir-fries. Today, China produces 76% of the world's garlic according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Statistics Division (FAOSTAT).

I almost decided not to cover it, as I thought there wasn’t really much to say; everyone knows garlic. But thinking a bit more, I found there is more to be said than I first thought.

 

First up, there is more than one type in China. What we consider to be regular garlic in the west is available everywhere and is the most used. But there is this other type which is my go-to. 独蒜 (dú suàn) is single-headed garlic. This cultivar does not split into separate cloves, but usually remains in one segment. (I have occasionally met twins.) They save on a lot of chopping and mincing. But best of all is that the skin falls off easily, if you so much as give it a dirty look. One bulb is equal to about two cloves of the regular stuff.

 

Single-headed garlic

独蒜 (dú suàn) is often associated with Sichuan, but actually originated in Yunnan.It is not so common in northern China. Many of my Chinese friends have ‘corrected’ me when I mention it, thinking I have mispronounced dà suàn as dú suàn. I then have to correct them!

Fuchsia Dunlop mentioned somewhere that she had found single-headed garlic in London’s Chinatown, so it may be available in Chinese or Asian stores elsewhere. If you find it, please let me know.

 

Black garlic

 

I can also find black garlic relatively easily. Both regular and single-headed varieties. I have never seen a Chinese recipe for it and none of my friends know it, so I don’t know how it is used here.

Note: Garlic powder is not really available here. The Maryland-based McCormick spice company, which is very active in China, does do a version, but I’ve never seen it here. That said, garlic powder is rare most places outside North America. It may be used industrially here, as the only way I can buy it, not that I want to, is on-line in 1 kg sacks.

 

Left to Right: Garlic powder; Garlic and Ginger powder; Ginger powder

 

There is a lovely Chinese idiom, 鸡毛蒜皮 (jī máo suàn pí), literally meaning ‘chicken feather, garlic skin’ but really meaning ‘a trivial matter’. It can also mean 'kitchen waste'.

 

Edited August 26, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[shain]

On 8/23/2021 at 11:14 AM, liuzhou said:

Tahini is made from raw seeds which, if toasted at all, are only very lightly toasted. Different flavour altogether

 

Tahini is made from toasted seeds. I only ever saw non-toasted ones being sold in health-food stores, always poorly made.

Most tahini is indeed toasted much lighter than sesame paste, some are prized for being light in color and flavor. But some tahini are known for being boldly toasted and get close, tough it's still a different roast profile - dark toasted tahini have more bitter roasted notes.

The latter is (at least to my taste) is a very decent substitute where other flavors are involved, but those brands are few (like al-jamal).

 

On another note, does anyone else find black sesame to have a poppy-like flavor?

[shain]

15 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

So, in the spirit of waste not want not, is there anything that I can use the others for?

 

While toasted sesame oil is a finishing oil, as said. The cheaper kind can still be used for cooking. Much like olive oil - the good stuff drizzled on the plate, the cheap goes to an omelet (or anything that cooks briefly).

I used sesame oil for short cooking on some occasions (what I get here is pure and quite good, but cheap enough that I won't mind).

 

 

Living in a hot climate, I keep everything which is oily and not quickly used in the fridge. That includes sesame oil, extra olive oil (we press once a year, so there is always a lot), tahini, chili oil, all kinds of nut spreads, etc.