It’s a delicious mystery,
the way that certain food aesthetics seem to bridge space and time, uniting
cultures that would seem to be light years apart. There are no reasonable
explanations for this, no instances of immigration one way or the other, no record
of any foreign-style restaurant setting up shop in a small country town and
changing the course of comfort food for all time. But it happens.
One such instance is the
way in which the most delicious foods of Chaozhou, on the north coast of
Guangdong province, resonate with the soul food of Black America. The
three-course menu below highlights that commonality of flavor.
Tangy ribs are as popular
throughout China as they are from Kansas City to North Carolina, and each
region has its own take on the master recipe, but this Chaozhou version has to
be up there in the ranks of the very best. Its secret? Sour plums.
These salty, dry, and
most definitely sour little rocks are turned from mouth-puckering tea snacks
into mouth-watering jammy sauces here, the tartness hovering inside the
sweetness and the fruitiness of the plums providing the necessary balance. But
to transform these breakfasty flavors into something divine, garlic and ginger wake
up the palate and make you start wondering whether there are any immediate direct
flights to Chaozhou...
Read the rest here on Zester Daily, where you'll find recipes for Fried Ribs with Ginger & Plum Sauce, Soupy Greens (aka The Dish that Secured the Country), and Steamed Taro Pudding with Ginkgo Nuts.
