I teach mornings on Fridays, so today I'm making lunch, using the best soy sauce, IMHO, in the universe, Premium Mushroom Dark Soy Sauce from Haday. Anyway I think it's called this as this is one of the few English words on the label, along with "China Time-honored Brand". It's unusually thick and has "legs" (adheres to the bottle) which I associate with a good quality wine. Anyway 500ml cost me 7,90 yuan (about $1.20). Note how it stains my chicken a purple-red color. I believe this is a characteristic of the top quality soy sauces produced in Anhui Province. My Lonely Planet guide says that this is "a dark mauve hue auspiciously described as 'red', a color associated with good fortune."
Well, I trust my lunch (and dinner) dish of bean sprouts, mushrooms and this unusual leafy vegetable with purple stalks turns out as well as I plan. I've not seen this kale/cabbage/broccoli-like thing before, so I decided to experiment. I sure hope it's not some crazy fiery hot Chinese vegetable. You have to be careful with "familiar" vegetables here. The "leeks" and "red peppers" are much hotter than at home in the US. All the other flavoring a are the classics: garlic, ginger, 5 spice powder and a pinch of Sichuan red pepper.
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