Before I start…just want to say, who’s excited about the GoT? Can’t wait for 2018 to be over and get on with 2019 so we can watch the final season.
Well, actually winter is already here.
Super cold weekend in Shanghai and the first snow of the season.
This winter so far has been miserable. I’ve been sick for what feels like eternity. I had a slight fever and a wicked cough before my trip to Stuttgart and that was in November, and I’m still sick. My running nose is chaffed pink from all the tissue wiping, I have phlegm in my throat that I don’t know how to spit out. The two most Asian thing that I can’t do. I can’t shit in a squatter and I can’t hawk a loogie. Next winter, I’m taking 6 flu shots just to be really sure.
To commemorate the firsts snow day of 2018, I decided to make a bone broth mixed with pickled cabbage. A variation on the northeastern China’s famous dish (酸菜白肉). This dish in Taiwan is turned into a hot pot base so I first knew of it as a hot pot flavor, and only when I lived in Beijing did I learn that it was just a soup dish. Anyways, I woke up at 5:30, my usual time as always and I took a stroll to the neighborhood wet market. Everyone always makes fun of me for waking up at old people hours and they’re right. There is no one under the age of 60 at the wet markets that early in the morning. Definitely not a great way to meet girls.
To build the base of the bone broth here’s what I used
- Big pork bone x 1
- Pig foot x 1
- Onions x 2
- Daikon x 1
- Leek x 1
- Carrots x 2
- Dashi – I used the scalloped flavored one
- Fish Sauce – I just discovered fish sauce makes everything better
- White Pepper (I use a lot because I love it, but it’s up to you)
- Pickled Napa Cabbage (Preferably from Northeast China)
- Clams, about 20 of them tasty fuckers. But make sure you smell them first or else it’ll ruin the whole pot
- Sake – I used a bunch of Dassai 39 for this. Yes, I’m a sick sick individual using this expensive of a sake for cooking but it makes a big difference, or at least I like to think it does.
Low and Slow
3-4 hours until the pig foot is almost dissolved
The broth without the pickled cabbage could serve as a great base for other dishes, like ramen, hot pot, or curry udon. I think I’m going to start making this more frequently in the future if time allows and well if I’m still sick.
To finish out the dish, I added the typical ingredients – sliced pork, regular Napa cabbage, glass noodles, and tofu.
Adding in the extras
I’ve added some extra ingredients, stuff I love in a hot pot – meat balls and egg dumplings.
Man, this was soooooooooo good!I couldn’t stop thinking about how much of a difference fish sauce makes.I’m so ashamed I’m so late to the fish sauce game.Even after making pho and watching Ugly Delicious, somehow I compartmentalized fish sauce in Southeast Asian dishes.I have the same bottle of fish sauce since 1999 (just kidding but definitely for many many years) because I only use it when I make pho and Thai basil pork.I’m so glad I saw a video of Masa explaining how he made his ponzu at home – it was half orange juice, and then 40% soy sauce and 10% fish sauce – did you just say fish sauce? And he used it in his fried rice too…fucking mind blown. If the Great Masa (ok I’ve never had his cooking but judging from the way he cooks and eats with Bourdain on Parts Unknown, he’s fucking cool in my book). And I’m going to try to remake that fish fried rice dish next…so simple and yet I can picture it being really delicious!
That’ll probably be my next dish but I’m happy with the new found enthusiasm in cooking. This winter is going to be a lot of fun!
Excuse the rice cooker in the back, I was starving and just snapped a picture right away, couldn’t wait to dig into it! Yum Yum!