2-in-1 Chili!

This chilli was spotted in the garden by chance. It has one side that is red and the other side green. How amazing!

I wonder what triggers it to ripen. I am sure it is enzyme mediated but it still doesn’t explain why the ripening is one-sided as the enzymes would be found throughout the chili. Well, unless it also depends upon activation by sunlight – maybe it only received sunlight on one side and not the other. But, this is quite unlikely because the other chilies on the same plant are ripening evenly.

Perhaps it is a genetic mutation: enzymes are only produced on one side and not the other?

Well, in this age of modern convenience, even chilies come in two colors.

What’s next??!!

molecular gastronomy, anyone?

CS: Hey, bro! What’s up?
RM: You heard of this thing call mm mollar and gg romy?
CS: Oh, you mean the latest talk of the town – molecular gastronomy?
RM: Yup, som’ like that. Heard that a restaurant serving this type of cuisine.
CS: Ya, a very unique experience – you get to sit in wheel chairs in front of the operating table for your meals. And, they serve you “caviar” made right in front of your eyes! Also, they made ice cream using liquid nitrogen right in front of you. I went there and it was quite a memorable dining experience.
RM: WAH, that is magical! How can they make caviar? I thought it is a natural product from a fish?
CS: Well, it is not real caviar that you get from the sturgeon fish. But something that looks like it. Because it is custom made, you can give it the color and flavor that you want.
RM: That means you can actually have orange flavored or mint flavored caviar in different colors. How amazing!
CS: It is actually made from dripping drops of these flavored and colored liquids, which contain alginate, into a solution containing calcium ions. Upon contact, the alginate on the outer surface of the drops reacts with the calcium ions and traps whatever molecules that are around it to form a network. This network becomes the gel-like structure that entraps the liquid that is inside. So the liquid droplet becomes something that looks like caviar - a membrane enclosing some liquid inside. But all these happen very quickly, just a matter of seconds.
RM: So, it is something like making cement – if you add water to cement, it will harden to a solid after some time. So if you have a cement ball and you spray water on the outside, the outside layer will harden after some time while the inside is still in the powder form. How ingenious!
CS: Yes, I must say it is quite innovative. Alginates are commonly used in many products in the food industry as a stabilizer. But to use it the way that they have used it in the kitchen is quite refreshing. In my opinion, molecular gastronomy is actually the application of food science knowledge in the kitchen.
RM: So, this is actually not that new. It is actually using ingredients that are novel to the traditional kitchen to create a different cuisine.
CS: Well, I am not sure whether it is a new cuisine ‘coz a cuisine takes time to attain a certain recognizable identity and this is influenced by many factors such as the history, culture, tradition, people, religion, etc… and even the ingredients and cooking methods.
RM: Sounds exciting… it is like we are in the process of creating history – culinary history. A hundred years from now, I will be remembered for having contributed to the rise of a new cuisine!
CS: Like real! You have not even tried it and you are talking big! Day dreaming as usual, lah!
RM: Aiya, what's so difficult, I just bring my friends there, loh! Go there a few more times and I would have significant contribution to culinary history.
CS: Maybe, maybe not. I personally would not go there too frequently. I go there because of the novelty which is great for entertaining my clients - another talking point besides just talking business, you know? I am very much a steak and potato person and I want value for money if I am dining out myself. It cost quite a bomb but I am ok ‘coz my company is paying for it. In addition, I wouldn’t want to eat all those food additives so often, you know I got allergies. I would prefer the real caviar, man.
RM: I think we can grow this molecular gastronomy thingy. Instead of serving pure molecular gastronomy dishes on the restaurant menu, we can introduce some of these dishes into mainstream cuisines: first Western, then Chinese. It can be in the form of appetizers, hors d’oeuvres, desserts, etc. That means you still can have your steak and potato, ok? This would make it affordable and available to the general consumers. Its novelty and innovativeness would eventually make it accepted and be part of culinary culture!
CS: Agree, but it is a dream and too much work needed. Anyway, I won’t call them molecular gastronomy dishes, ‘coz El Bulli doesn’t call his this anymore. Now it is just a tool to him, not a cuisine. People look for creativeness, dining experience, value, etc, but they don’t care what technique you use to achieve that. It is like saying: “Hey, I do food safety in my restaurant.” People expect you to do that, it is taken for granted, and they don’t care how you do it. So similarly, they expect you to be innovative or to surprise them with your food, but do they care which technique you use? You can tell them you use Montessori and it wouldn’t make a diff, man!
RM: You always throw cold water on me. Well, that kind of work is for a dreamer like me. Must dream big!!
CS: Well, you continue with your 春秋大梦, I’m taking off. Need to go back to office to finish some memos.
RM: OK, lah, buddy. Catch up with you some other time.
CS: Oh, ya, next Saturday is my birthday. Bring a nice champagne, ok?
RM: Ha? Champagne, my foot! You are the one dreaming, man!
CS: Ha, Ha, OK, lah. Bye!

诗礼银杏 Shili Gingko Nuts

诗礼银杏 or Shili Gingko Nuts is a well-known dish in Kongfu cuisine (孔府菜) and is made with gingko nuts that are exquisitely prepared. It is bright red in color, has a soft and chewy texture, sweetened by honey, and perfumed by the thick and sweet fragrance of osmanthus flowers (桂花).

The dish takes its name from Shili Hall (诗礼堂) which was originally built by Confucius to teach his son about Shi and Li. During the Song dynasty, two gingko trees were planted in front of the hall. It was said that the chefs who originally created this dish used the gingko nuts from these trees. And hence the dish was named after the hall. Surprisngly, the trees are still flourishing today.

The gingko tree is best known as a living fossil and dates back 270 million years. It belongs to the family Ginkgoaceae, and is a deciduous tree with distinctive, fan-shaped leaves. Individual trees are either male or female and are very beautiful in autumn when the leaves turn a bright yellow. But, the fruits are foul-smelling.

I remember back during my university days there were rows of gingko trees on campus and it was a wonderful sight in autumn. But when the fruits dropped on the ground and were stepped on, the smell was terrible. Somebody could mistaken that it was dog poo. Occasionally I would see an Asian grandmother picking up the fruits. I suppose not many people knew it was edible.

The foul smell comes from the flesh that covers the seed and is attributed to butanoic acid (C4H8O2) which is what rancid butter smells like. I guess this is a way to prevent the seeds from being eaten and to ensure the survival of the species. But unfortnately it does not seem to be effective against some humans!

Gingko nuts are usually sold with the shell on but nowadays there are also canned ones. The shoot that is in the nut need to be removed otherwise it would taste bitter. Gingko nuts can be found in many Chinese dishes, both savory and sweet. The nut is quite bland in taste but has a distinctive flavor that is unmistakenly "gingko nut". In traditional Chinese medicine, it is believed that gingko nuts are good for its drying and shrinking effects on the lungs due to its bitter and astringent properties. It is often prescribed for coughs and asthmas.

Traditional Recipe for Shili Gingko Nuts 诗礼银杏

750 g gingko nuts, shell removed
265 g sugar
100 g hot water
50 g honey
2.5 g osmanthus paste

boil gingko nuts in salted water and remove papery skin covering seeds

boil gingko nuts again and let them sit covered for a while

blanch with hot water (these 2 steps are to remove the bitterness)

heat wok and cook 15 g of the sugar till reddish brown

add the hot water, honey, remaining sugar, osmanthus paste, and cook till dissolved

add gingko nuts, simmer till syrup is thick

add a little lard and garnish with red and green shreds

serve in shallow soup dish

This dish has been around for ages. Does it still suit today's taste? How can it be made more contemporary? Here's my two-cents worth:

Option A:

continue cooking until the syrup reaches the hard ball stage (if you have a thermometer, the temperature should be about 125C)

remove gingko nuts and drain quickly

sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and toss rapidly to evenly coated the gingko nuts

allow gingko nuts to cool so that the exterior turns hard (keep them away from each other to prevent them from sticking to each other)

serve as a snack

Option B:

remove gingko nuts from syrup and allow to drain

while draining, melt some chocolate in double boiler or microwave (caution: temperature should not exceed 45C)

add gingko nuts to melted chocolate, stir to ensure that they are evenly coated

remove gingko nuts and allow chocolate to drain and harden

sprinkle finely cut gold leaves on the surface

chill in refrigerator

serve as dessert

What about you - any innovative ideas to transform this dish to something modern?

之 乎 者 也 (2)

之 乎 者 也 are words commonly seen in Chinese classical literature and belong to an arcade literary style very much unused in today's modern language. Whenever I see these words, Confucius comes to mind.

Confucius is widely recognized as a teacher and a philosopher. He lived about 2,500 years ago and was born in Qufu, a province in Shangdong, China, during the Spring and Autumn Period. He worked for the State of Lu for many years but was later dissapointed with the government and started travelling to other kingdoms to espouse his political beliefs. He returned home during his last years and spent his time teaching his disciples.

His teachings accorded particular importance to the behaviors and rituals between individuals of different relationships such as that between parents and their children, husbands and their wives, rulers and their subjects, etc. It was based on the moral concepts of Li, Yi, and Ren (礼,仪,仁), and its essence can be summed up as not doing to others what one do not wish to be done to oneself and grant to others what one recognizes as desirable for oneself.

His teachings were embraced by the rulers, nobility, scholars and common people throughout the dynasties that follow and have become an integral part of Chinese life and culture today.

It is interesting to note that even as Confucius espoused his lofty philosophies of the state and the people, the preparation and consumption of food did not escape his scutiny. The Analects captures his views:

食不厭精、膾不厭細。食饐而餲魚餒而肉敗、不食。色惡不食、臭惡不食。失飪不食、不時不食。割不正不食、不得其醬不食。肉雖多、不使勝食氣、唯酒無量、不及亂。沽酒、市脯、不食。不撤薑食。不多食。


Over the centuries, a new type of cuisine that embodies his views on the preparation and consumption of food as well as the practices of Li and Yi has gradually evolved into what is known as Kongfu cuisine (孔府菜) which reached its peak during the Ming and Ching Dynasties. Classical Kongfu cuisine can be divided into two broad categories:

1. Internal cuisine - this was for the daily fare of the household members.

2. External cuisine - this was for emperors, kings, nobility and government officials to commemorate Confucius, birthdays, weddings, among other occasions. It places special emphasis on refinement, nutrition, grandness, and the protocols of Li and Yi. The grand banquets had themes that centered on bird nest, shark's fin, sea cucumber, etc. as well as ManHan grand banquet (满汉全席), and whole goat banquet (全羊宴). There were different menus for officials of different ranks.

However, irrespective of the types of cuisine, attention to the freshness of ingredients, their seasonality, and matching with the appropriate sauce is of great importance.

Some notable dishes from Kongfu cuisine are:

• 孔府一品锅
• 八仙过海
• 御笔猴头
• 诗礼银杏

In 1947, the 77th generation of Confucius left the ancestral residence. The kitchens stopped operating and Kongfu cuisine entered into its last chapter in the book of culinary history.

Or, did it?

Are Confucius's views still relevant in today's fast food culture? Does 食不厭精 still apply to our cuisines today?